


The Cat's Meow

by ferretbaby



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-08
Updated: 2011-11-08
Packaged: 2017-10-25 20:30:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 39,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/274472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ferretbaby/pseuds/ferretbaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based off a prompt on kink meme: When Erik offends a potential recruit to the Brotherhood, the mutant gets back at him by turning his beloved cat into a human being. Cue Charles pouncing on Erik, waking up all over him, trying to sleep over Hank's computer cause it's warm, chasing birds, caressing himself over other people and overall bothering Erik until he gets petted and purrs happily. There is sexy time eventually.<br/>Notes/Warnings: Slight Beastiality (Charles is half cat here), sex, crack, romance. REVISED! I changes some things that I didn't like (the Epilogue and a few scenes), so if you've read it before, this version has some differences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Cat's Meow

“Why is it that anyone that isn’t a mutant isn’t worth your time!” The mutant yelled, angry that Magneto had sent her little human lover away. She should be happy he didn’t kill the man, thinking he had a right to be with a mutant. He had done far worse to humans for a lot less.

Nonetheless, “Join us and you won’t have to put up with that insignificant worm again. There are people just like you, more worthy of your affection.”

The girl was crying now. “But I wanted him!”

Erik resisted sighing loudly, just barely.

“Look-”

“No! You look,” She cut him off. “You don’t understand how I feel. I didn’t care that he was human, we are in love. You’d understand if you’d ever been in love, but I doubt someone like you even has a heart.”

Oh lord, if Erik had a penny for every time he heard this speech. Always about how he ‘didn’t understand’ and all that babble about love and hearts and rainbows. Bullshit.

“He’s human-”

“So!” Jesus Christ was this woman going to let him talk. “I’m going to make the most precious person you love human. Then you will understand my pain.”

Another dramatic teenage girl with amazing mutant powers. Like he would care if she turned someone human, Erik hadn’t even gone on a date in 2 years. He was either going to have to start bringing Angel or Raven on these trips or just recruit men from now on, he didn’t understand why women always went nuts at the slightest offence.

The girl pointed a glowing pink finger at his chest.

Well, crap.

***

So that mutant recruiting was a bust. Thankfully he had gotten away unscathed. At most he had a little glowy dot go into his chest. He felt fine and doubted that anything major had happened, but it was always good to check with Hank anyways, he’d be no use if he exploded unexpectedly over dinner.

A few hours later Hank cleared him and Emma had smirked at him like he was pathetic when he told her of the confrontation with the girl.

When he finally got to his room later that night, he plopped back spread eagle on his bed, disturbing the pile of jingle balls and feather toys scattered in the rumpled sheets.

“Charles?” He called out to his room. He didn’t bother looking around for his cat, Charles had some kind of special power to always know when Erik made it home and be there waiting to greet him.

He got a pitiful ‘mew’ from under the bed.

“Charles? Are you okay there, buddy?” Erik rolled over to look under the bed.

He was just reaching down to pull the sheets out of his way when a hand shot out from the darkness under his bed and grabbed his wrist. Squawking loudly, Erik tumbled off the bed and to the floor in a heap of metal bits and bedcovers.

“Holy Hells!” Erik used his powers to throw the whole bed frame across the room. There, curled in a ball of naked flesh and previously-believed missing cat toys was a young man, looking pleadingly up at him with huge blue eyes through wispy chocolate brown locks.

“Who the fuck are you?!” Erik wasn’t going to deny the hysterics in his voice, there was a naked boy under his bed. If this was one of Sean stupid pranks, so help him…

The boy chirped at him, uncurling from his tight ball and reaching out with shaking fingers towards Erik.  In some kind of daze brought on by shock and disbelief, Erik could only watch as the boy (well, to be honest, more like young man- he didn’t look that young) stretched out towards him and paw at his thighs with a happy smile on his face.

Maybe Erik was asleep? It would be understandable. There was a temptingly beautiful naked young man crawling naked towards him and slipping trembling hands farther up Erik’s thigh.

Erik finally broke from his erotic hallucination and figured out there was a stranger in his lap about the same time Mystique and Havoc broke down the door.

“Magneto! We heard….” Alex trailed off, eyeing the scene before him.

It didn’t look like their fearless leader was in trouble. Case in point, naked man draping himself over his lap, in fact Erik seemed kind of pissed that they had disturbed him.

“Seriously.” Raven put her hands on her hips. “You couldn’t show off like a normal person and just show him your abs or something? You had to fling your bed across the room instead?”

Then Erik was getting a face full of dangly bits as the young man tried to leap over him at Raven.

Restraining him only seemed to make him squirm more. Erik tried not to be distracted by the display but it was damn hard. The stranger finally settled down and plopped back into Erik’s lap, reached over him and making grabby hands at Raven while purring like a motor engine.

“O-kay,” Alex said tense. “This is awkward.”

Erik and Raven just ignored him.

“Erik, why is your stripper trying to invite me into your room?” Raven asked.

“He’s not my anything. He was under my bed when I got back.” Erik growled, hands settling on a boney bare hip. “I was looking for Charles when- Oh my God, where’s Charles!”

Erik shoved the young man off his lap, getting a hiss for all his trouble. Ignoring it as he searched the room for his cat. Why did he think throwing a bed frame across the room was a good idea. His precious baby could have been hurt!

“Uh…Erik?”

Whirling around, he glanced panicked at Raven and Alex. He didn’t have time to deal with these peons, Charles was missing!

Raven was pointing at the young man sprawled across the floor, nibbling on one of Charles catnip toys.

A long furry brown tail twitching against the floor behind him.

What the- how did he miss that?

It took a few minutes before Erik finally got it. He wasn’t stupid, not by a long shot. He could put 2 and 2 together and get 4 like everyone else. It really wasn’t genius thinking going on here, crazy shit happened all the time around the Brotherhood, it was practically their motto, ‘Join us, and be forever surprised at the idiocy of your fellow mutants’.  But how does one reconcile the fact that one’s cat was missing and there was a naked man with a furry tail lounging on his floor. He’d add 2 and 2 together and get ‘does not compute’ every damn time.

This bore investigating. A test.

Using his powers he raised one of Charles’s favorite jingle balls in the air and shook it.

The young man immediately stopped drooling all over the catnip toy and stared unwaveringly at the floating ball, furry cat ears flicking forward as all his concentration settled on watching the toy bounce in midair.

Charles, because -oh God, it had to be Charles- there was no other explanation that didn’t sound insane, tried to stumble up into a crouch, tail sweeping behind him as he settled into a pouncing position. He struck out, batting at the floating ball. He seemed oddly surprised and pleased to find he could reach it so easily (because Erik was a jerk sometimes and liked to tease his cat by keeping his toys out of reach if they had any metal on them. What? Erik never promised not to use his power for evil).

It was in that second that Charles (Erik, choked up) noticed his human appendages and gave his owner a confused ‘meow’.

Raven gave Erik an exasperated look. “Just, put some clothes on him while I go get Emma.” She stormed out, shoving Alex into the hallway.

Erik watched Charles as he discovered his toes. Bending like a pretzel so he could lick the sole of his foot.

“What can he wear? He has a tail, so usual pants are a no-go. Do you think we should steal something of Azazel’s?” Alex asked, turning his face away so he didn’t get an eye full. Erik didn’t bother, he’d seen it all already.

Erik tried to imagine Charles in the severe black suits the teleporter favored. It was weird because he kept seeing this young man’s face transform into that of his precious cat.

“No. He can wear one of my t-shirts until we can get a tailor to alter some shorts for him.” Besides, as a cat, Charles had always been weary of the Russian mutant. Whenever Azazel teleported into a room with Charles in it, he’d puff out like he was being threatened and slink away. Charles probably would like something that smelled more familiar.

“Right.” Alex squinted at him.

His wardrobe wasn’t very eclectic, but Erik had lounge wear and sweats like any normal person and no matter what Emma said his clothes weren’t always either black or maroon. He found a large grey t-shirt and headed back towards the naked man. Charles dropped his foot once he noticed Erik heading towards him, ears and tail perking up.

He wondered if Charles understood what was happening? Was he still a cat inside the body of a man or had he been fully transformed into a human? Would Charles know how to talk? He could only imagine the things one’s cat could say if they could.

Clicking his tongue, he crouched down in front of Charles. Charles chirped happily at him, crawling towards him on hands and knees, sidling right up into Erik’s lap and nuzzling at his neck. It was rather sweet. Human Charles smelled like cat Charles, was still overly affectionate with his owner, and if it wasn’t for the whole naked male body curling himself into his lap he probably wouldn’t be having any internal breakdown of moral integrity right now.

“You know this puts things into a whole new perspective,” Alex said while Erik slipped the t-shirt quickly over Charles. “I always thought your cat was somewhat excessively dependent with you. Didn’t he use to belong to Mystique?”

Charles glanced down at the clothes, giving them a sniff before shrugging and curling lazily back into Erik’s lap. Thankfully it looked like the shirt would be long enough to cover him to about mid-thigh.

“Mystique found him as a kitten and gave him to me as a gift.” Erik growled. Charles ‘adoption’ had been deeply personal. Charles had been the first gift he’d received in years. And after Shaw’s death he had been somewhat listless there for a few months, so Raven had gone out to the pet shop with intentions to by him a parrot or something to teach curse words to and had come home with a fluffy white and brown, blue eyed kitten instead.

 Being the runt of the litter, Charles had been so tiny. Erik had been afraid to set him on the floor unless he stepped on him, and usually refused to be in the same room with the kitten in case he hurt him somehow accidently. Charles had not been deterred to show who he really liked in their small household. Raven had taken over the duty of cleaning up after and feeding the cat, but it was Erik who received all the affection from the tiny monster. After about 6 months of glaring pouts from Raven, Erik had officially taken over as Charles’s guardian.

And as their small family had grown, so too had Erik’s devotion to the cat. There was a rule the Brotherhood jokingly referred to as ‘If we’re under attack, protect the cat’ that wasn’t really a joke at all.

Charles purred loudly, leaning forward to nip at Erik’s ear. Erik felt his face heat up in a blush and tried to shift into a more comfortable position on the floor with Charles straddling his lap.

Alex gapped in either horror or fascination, with him it could be whichever. “This is getting slightly disturbing…”

Thankfully, Emma- and dammit about half the team too- showed up at his door and busted out laughing.

“I’m glad this is so entertaining for you.” Erik spit out, bringing his cape around so he could cover the back end of Charles, because he perked up at the company and Erik hadn’t taken into account that the tail might make the shirt ride up. He was going to have to find some shorts and alter them as quickly as possible.

“Please Erik, your existence is pure entertainment to me.” Emma glided smoothly inside, maneuvering around debris and cat toys like a pro. “So what’s this about your little fluff muffin being transmuted into a human.”

Erik glared.

“You should have expected this. The mutant did say whoever you love most would be turned human.” Emma said casually, reaching out to scratch at Charles’s fluffy ear. One of the mutants out in the hall squawked at what she said. “I doubt anyone’s surprised to see that would be your cat.”

“I’m kind of surprised.” Janos said, peaking around the broken door.

“Me too.” Sean squeaked.

Assholes. Everyone of them.

“Is this really Charles or not? I need to know how much of him is human and for how long.” Erik growled out, barely resisting slapping Emma’s hand away except Charles was purring loudly and leaning into her hand.

Emma hummed in concentration, putting both hands in Charles’s hair. “Yes it’s your dear feline. It looks like he’s still partially cat. Whatever that mutant did it wasn’t meant to turn an animal human.” Emma looked at Erik. “He has the brain of a human with animal impulses. Sort of like a baby.”

Erik nodded. It made sense. He ran a hand down Charles’s back. “Can he do anything human, like talk?”

“Give me a second,” Emma closed her eyes and turned into her diamond form. Charles froze, going unnaturally still under her hands.

For a few minutes barely a person breathed, until Emma stumbled back, releasing Charles who slumped into Erik’s arms.

“There,” Emma turned back into her human form. “Grade school to Level 12 education, downloaded neatly into his little blank brain.”

“Fuck Frost,” Erik worried over Charles, who was unresponsive under his hand. “What did you do to him!”

Emma flicked back her hair. “He’s fine. Just an overload. Let him sleep it off while we decide what to do with him.”

 Erik’s room was still a mess. Grumbling, he set Charles down in his desk chair while he righted the bed frame and set the mattresses correctly with his powers. Raven rushing forward to help him straiten the sheets as best as they could.

Erik gently set Charles down onto the fluffy pillows along with the cat’s favorite stuffed mouse, making sure he was comfortable before shoeing everybody else out of his room and towards the main room for a long and harrowing discussion.

***

The discussion, in the end, was pretty strait forward. Cat Charles had been Erik’s responsibility, so human Charles was _still_ Erik’s responsibility, no matter how much he whined and threatened. They couldn’t exactly turn him out into the streets, he wasn’t really fully human, and it would be cruel to separate Charles from the familiar.

Emma made snide remarks against Erik’s character, saying their fearless leader might cry like a little girl if they even tried to get rid of Charles.

“Look, why don’t we just treat this like he’s another mutant.” Raven said reasonably.

“But he’s not,” Hank argued. “He’s familiarized himself with all of us as a cat, who knows how that’s going to bridge over as a human.”

Raven looked angry, ready to argue some more, so Erik cut in. “Let’s just play this by ear. Raven’s right though, we should all treat this like any other new mutant joining the Brotherhood. We’ll establish boundaries and all that other stuff once we get an idea of what exactly Charles remembers.”

“Exactly,” Emma smiled happily. “So Erik, since you have the deepest ‘bond’, as they say, with Charles as a cat, you should help him adjust. No more missions until he’s settled.” She gave Erik a tight smile when he looked to protest before turning to the others. “He’ll stay with Erik tonight until we can figure out if he wants his own room. He’s still going to be slightly territorial for a few days so be careful around him, no sneaking up behind him and pulling his tail-Sean that means you, I can hear you thinking over there. Any questions?”

Erik and Sean sputtered, while Raven gave a long suffered sigh.

***

Erik is sitting in a chair facing the bed when the large pile of covers on his bed stir, two twitchy brown ears being the only thing visible, flicking in every which direction.

Finally, after a few silent minutes the rest of Charles appears, his large blue eyes set in a classically handsome face stare strait into Erik’s own. His expression a cross between startled horror and happy delight.

He looks ridiculous. 

Leaning forward, Erik sighs loudly. He’d been dreading this. “Charles, do you understand what has happened to you?”

Charles ignored him, attention caught by a twittering bird outside the window.

“Charles!”

Finally, Charles looks back towards him when the bird flies away. Cocking his head to the side and going cross eyed.

“Do. You. Understand. The. Words. Coming. Out. Of. My. Mouth.”

“Me—Ow. Ow. Ow,” Charles choughs violently. He gives Erik a pitiful look, which usually got him scooped up into Erik’s arms and toted around like a furry baby but now that he’s human would probably look silly. He seems to recover though, shaking his head and making some weird guttural sounds in the back of his throat. Erik is prepared to wait patiently silent, this isn’t a Disney movie where he has to hold the princesses hand and loving encourage every attempt she makes. Charles can figure this out himself.

“Ek,” Charles scrunches up his nose. “Erk. Erik. Erik!” Charles’s face blossoms into happy elation.

“Good.” Erik congratulates him, making Charles beam. “So you know who I am. Can you say anything else?”

 He gets a shrugs, Charles seems happily content to repeat his name like a broken record.

“Please, Charles stop,” Erik groans.

Charles actually stops, crawling forward enough that he’s sitting knee to knee with Erik. “Make happy?”

Erik startles.

“Make Erik happy if Charles is quiet?”

“Yes. I mean no. You can talk, just stop repeating things over and over.”

Charles purrs. “Good. I always wanted to say words to master. Master no hear. Master no listen.”

“W-what?” He can’t fight the blush. Something like pleasure runs through him at hearing someone call him master. He’s been called lord before, but it’s never made him quake the way the words coming out of Charles does. He quickly brushed the thoughts away, concentrating back on Charles.

“- Hank need groom himself better, or have mate do it. Spit up blue fur-ball other day. It nasty. Angel upset had to clean up after me. Tell I’m sorry now. Sean owe bag of catnip. Stole mine, want back. I think Emma know I shed on bed. Don’t let her skin me Master, said she would. Don’t let her. I be good. Promise. And-and-”

Erik has to grab Charles to stop him from nattering on. It seemed that once Charles had started talking he doesn’t seem able to stop. His face was turning somewhat red, probably from lack of oxygen.

The touch of skin on skin made the newly made human shiver, Charles’s tail puffing out slightly behind him, but he finally stopped talking. Taking gasping breaths and wobbling slightly on the bed.

“It’s fine. Settle down. You have plenty of time to talk to everyone.” Erik said calmly. And Charles actually seemed to calm down. It was a weird position to be in, because Erik was normally the person who made things worse and regularly had to be kicked out of rooms to settle situations down enough people weren’t threatening to kill each other. “I want to make sure your okay. Is there anything you need?”

No lie, Charles cooed at him. “Me good. Me happy. I want cuddle!”

And then he pounced.

Erik blinks up at the ceiling.

Charles is seemed, overestimated himself. Forgetting he was no longer a lithe furry cat and jumping on people the size he was now often made them fall over. Not that he even seemed to care, the bastard, he just purred right along, nuzzling up under Erik’s chin. God, his head hurt.

He didn’t know if he was angry or not. Had it been anybody else, Erik was sure he would have torn them limb from limb by now. Not basking in the pleasant sensation of having a half naked cat-man on top of him. Again.

Erik flexed his hands.

“Purr-Ert! Erik!” Charles broke off, scandalized. Tail lashing behind him.

The metal-bender looked down at his hands and found them clenching the fleshy gobs of Charles’s ass. His naked ass. Because Erik hadn’t remembered that Charles was still only in a t-shirt, so when the man threw himself at Erik, he had braced them both for the impact unconsciously. That or his hands had a mind of their own.

Charles eyed him. It was not unlike the look cat Charles gave when someone brought home new dry cat food. Suspicious, with a touch of resignation.

“Sorry.” Erik said.

“I fine. It just feel weird. Naked skin feel sensitive.” Charles blink down at him, face hovering over Erik’s. “I like Master petting me. Wish Master was home more to pet me more.”

Then, a new super power was born. Kitten eyes. And Erik felt himself succumb to their awesome power.

“No, no, no. Don’t worry, I’ll be home more often now. I have to make sure you’re settled in and I don’t trust the other morons in the house not to traumatize you or teach you horrible manners.” Raven alone would be bad enough, and Erik thought she was the most reasonable of their group.

“R-really?” Charles asks pitifully.

“Yes. I promise. I hated leaving you alone before, but my work really needed me to. But now you’re my responsibility, so I can’t leave you until you’re ready.”

“Good.” Charles grinned like a Cheshire cat, nipping lightly at Erik’s nose. He sunk back onto Erik’s chest, cuddling up under his neck and somehow still getting cat hair in Erik’s mouth.

Erik gave in. He was fighting a losing battle with Charles. Petting Charles, he let his hands run from Charles’ curly brown hair to the base of his tail. The trembling vibrations of Charles’ purr soothing Erik into a light daze.

Erik allowed for an hour of cuddling. Only because he had been gone so long with his trip and cuddling with Charles was part of their usual routine when he got back. It calmed them both. The others in the house said Charles was often anxious when Erik was gone for more than a day, and Erik temper and grouchy demeanor dissipated when Charles was around. So their short cuddle-naps were like a recharge. A way to stabilize them both.

But they eventually had to eat and Erik had to find some better clothes for Charles.

He found some old jogging shorts and tore a hole in the seat large enough to fit the cat’s tail through. Charles grumped about it, seemed he really didn’t care for clothes all that much, and Erik had horrible visions of the man running around the mansion naked. He quickly instilled the importance of clothes.

“So only mates can be naked together?”

Shifting on his feet, Erik tried to explain. “Yes. There are some special exceptions-like Raven- and when you bathe, of course.” He had paged Raven to bring their supper to his room. He really didn’t want to deal with Charles at a dinner table, Lord knew how that would go. Best to keep thing simple for now.

He gave Erik a small smirk that sent a shiver up his spine.

***

Raven tried to peek around the door when she brought the food up, but Erik quickly blocked her way.

“You’re being weird,” She sighed. “He knows who we are, Emma said so. She’s been listening in. She also said you’re a pervert.”

Erik slammed the door in her face. Ignoring her annoying cackling laugh as she walked away.

“Was that Raven?” Charles asked, running up to help Erik with the tray of food. His sentences were improving, along with his grammar. He didn’t sound so hesitant when he talked. “Is she and the other kittens upset at me?”

Erik choked. “Kittens?”

Charles hummed. “I ‘am older. So I’m leader of pride.”

“You’re barely two years old.”

“In human years. In cat years I’m almost 28.”

“That’s still pretty young.” Erik separated their portions, handing Charles his silverware. Charles watched how Erik used his and mimicked him. “You’re only a year older then Emma then. And I’m 32, so wouldn’t that make me the leader of the ‘pride’.”

Huffing, Charles delicately ate his food. “Yes. But they’re my kittens, I take care of them while you away.”

Erik smirked. “So you’re their mama cat.”

“No…” Charles pouted.

 He tried not to laugh, but Charles was adorable. “Your kittens aren’t mad at you. They are worried.”

“What about?”

“Eat your vegetable Charles. They didn’t know if you’re cat or human. It’s confusing because this has never happened before.”

Charles violently speared a carrot and popped it in his mouth. “Can’t I be both?”

“What?”

“Cat and human. Like everyone here? Different.”

Erik got serious. “Yes Charles, you can be whatever you want. You shouldn’t try to be something you’re not.” It was the same speech he gave to all new recruits. Not to hold back, to be themselves, to find perfection in their natural forms. Just because Charles was once a cat didn’t mean he shouldn’t get the same treatment. If he wanted to roll around with his kitty toys and bite Alex’s ankles because that was what cat-Charles did, then he shouldn’t hold back. Especially with biting Alex.

“Good.” Charles yawned. He had finished eating, way quicker than Erik. “I want a nap now.”

Gesturing towards the bed, Erik nodded. “Go ahead. It’s almost 8 though, so I’ll be heading to bed soon.”

Charles purred in delight, curling up in the pile of blankets he’d made a nest out of.

Erik finished eating and then grabbed a book. It was dark outside, so he sat at his desk and tried to read for awhile. Except he kept turning around to look at Charles. He was such an amazing creature. He was human, but he was defiantly still Charles. God, Hank was probably going to cream his pants. The furry blue scientist would be ecstatic to get the viewpoint of an actual animal turned human. He would have to warn Hank that Charles wasn’t a science experiments, and if Charles felt uncomfortable that he shouldn’t try to coerce him into anything he didn’t want to do.

By 10, Erik was drained. He’d been on that mission and coming home to this mad house and along with Charles, he was truthfully surprised he hadn’t passed out yet. Eyeing the bed, he saw that Charles was curled in his usual spot, leaving Erik’s spot open and available.

It would be weird. Sleeping next to a human body instead of a cats, but like he said, it was still Charles in there. He seriously doubted he had anything to worry about sleeping next to him. 

***

Erik’s eyes popped open in the middle of the night.

Looking beside him, Charles was licking at his wrist them running it over his furry cat ears. Awake and completely naked, lounging on the bed beside Erik.

“C-Charles!” Erik squeaked, pulling the covers up around himself like a hysterical maiden. “Where are your damn clothes?!”

“Hmm?” Charles licks his palm and runs it through his hair.

Erik is pretty sure he’s hyperventilating.

“Clothes! Clothes! You went to bed with clothes, why aren’t you wearing them now?”

“Ah,” Charles pauses. “You said it was okay to be naked while taking a bath.”

“Well yes, in the bathroom.” Erik very carefully keeps his eyes on Charles’s face. “Like a human. In the shower.”

“But you said…” Charles wrinkles his brows at him. “This is what I want to do. Not use your silly large water bowl and scented soaps.”

Groaning Erik bangs his head back against the head board. “Okay. You got me. But you can’t take baths with me right here next to you.” Which brought up a whole new thing to worry about in the morning: getting Charles in the shower.

“Why? I use to do it all the time.”

“I’m human. You’re human looking. People don’t lick themselves in front of other people, makes others uncomfortable. You do these kinds of things in private.”

“Oh.” Charles rolls over on his stomach, folding his hands under his chest and covering up anything else indecent with his tail. Erik remembers him doing this when he was a cat, he’d always thought it was sort of cute but now he just sighs in relief. “So I wasn’t supposed to give you a bath?”

Erik stomach drops. “What?”

“You were sleeping. And your hair was messy.” Charles is shaking. “I just couldn’t help myself.”

Sincerely, that wasn’t as bad as Erik was expecting. It did explain why his hair tended to stick up at awkward angles in the morning though. “It’s fine. But you won’t be able to keep it up with a human tongue. I don’t think our bodies are made for that.”

“You lie. I’ve seen others do it. Particularly Azazel, he likes to lick Raven and Janos all the time.”

“That was more information than I ever wanted to know about my subordinate lives…ever.”

Charles watches him curiously. He seriously didn’t want to give the ‘birds and the bees’ talk to his naked ex-cat in his bed late at night. There were some boundaries that just shouldn’t be crossed.

“That’s different, they’re…mates. I think. I don’t like to ask about it.” Erik blinks at Charles. “And what are you doing spying on them, you perv.”

Charles laughs. Happy and with delight. Erik feels something inside him loosen at the sound of it. “I was a cat. You wouldn’t believe the things I know about everyone, it’s like they don’t know I can see them.”

And this has the potential to be the best opportunity for blackmail material or the most horrendous account of Erik’s personal habits ever. He tried to remember if he’d done anything embarrassing with Charles in the room before and the instances are innumerable.  Who really thinks about the things they do in front of their pet, they don’t usually get turned into humans who can blab about it afterwards.

“I see. So do you plan to use this information for evil and rule the house with an iron fist? Instate everyday as Caturday from now on, where everyone is ordered to take naps in the middle of the day and eat tuna for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?” Erik teases.

Charles smiles at him, leaning on his fist to stare at Erik more closely. Erik is really too tired to care about the breach in personal space.  “No, but the naps sound like a good suggestion. You all work yourselves too hard.”

Erik rolls to face Charles. His larger body dwarfs Charles’s, but not by much. He barely resists the urge to throw the covers over the younger man. “It’s hard work and someone has to save us from the humans.” Charles yawns, nodding along. “Why don’t you go back to sleep. You have a big day ahead of you.”

“Hmm, Erik?”

“Yeah?” Erik watches with a displaced mind as his own hand reaches out to scratch at Charles’s ear, feeling the soft fur under his fingertips. Charles starts up purring again, his eyes getting heavy with sleep. Erik can feel himself slip back into the warm embrace of slumber. Content and relieved to have Charles next to him. Trusting him.

“I don’t want to only be a cat.”

Erik softens. “You never were.”

Soon after, both fall asleep. Erik with his fingers still in Charles’s hair and Charles’s tail curled tightly around Erik’s thigh. He forgets to remind Charles to put back on his clothes.

 ***

In the morning, Erik wakes alone. His brain jumped easily from sleep to awake, taking in his surroundings and looking for anything out of place.

Charles was missing.

And the bathroom door was closed.

Remembering last night, Erik decided to give Charles a few minutes. At least the ex-feline was taking his advice. He hoped. Finally after a few harrowing minutes for Erik he heard the toilet flush, and Charles trotted out with an odd look on his face that changed into a happy smile once he saw that Erik was sitting up in bed.

He was, thankfully, wearing cloths again.

“When did you figure out how to use the toilet?” Erik asked curiously. He had worried the night before about how he was going to have to explain bodily functions to the newly made human once Charles figured out he couldn’t fit into the litter box anymore. He was definitely relieved it seemed he didn’t have to.

“I’ve watched.” Charles chirped, indifferent to how weird and disgusting that sounded.

“I see.” He really didn’t, but Erik wasn’t about to go along with that line of thought. “Do you think you can use the shower on your own then?” Erik was hopeful.

Charles scowled, hopping up onto the bed and settling on Erik’s ankles. “No. I had a bath last night.”

“Charles…”

“No.”

Well, Erik couldn’t force him. That would be cruel. Maybe Charles would figure out that he couldn’t lick himself clean anymore and just give in later tonight. He’d start to smell eventually and the others would complain.

Erik maneuvered out from under Charles until he sat at the edge of the bed, feet against the cool wood flooring. Mostly the moment was to give himself a second to plan his day, but with Charles as his new responsibility he now knew his day depended solely on what Charles wanted to do today. It was weird. Erik had never had to take care of another ‘person’ before, not like he had to watch after Charles. To take care of their desires and protect them even from themselves, Charles really was hopelessly dependent on him.

Felling that today wouldn’t be so bad Erik took a deep breath of morning air. Well, if Charles didn’t want a shower, Erik did.

“Ahh!!” Charles startled, jumping forward and grabbing at Erik’s arm.

Looking around bewildered, Erik tried to see what had grabbed Charles’s attention.

Charles was staring at Erik’s crotch.

“Your tails growing!” Charles whispered excitedly, pointing at Erik’s morning wood.

“Stop that.” Erik growled, slapping Charles hand away in embarrassment.

Not to be deterred, Charles grabbed the waistband of Erik’s boxers trying to pull them down so he could get a better look.

Erik jumped off the bed so quickly it was as if a force of nature propelled him forward, the elastic band around his shorts snapping back against his skin sharply. He barely felt it though, in fact he was pretty sure he’d lost all nerve feelings at the moment because his heart was trying to beat out of his chest and kill him in a bloody mess of humiliation.

Charles just watched him confused, head tilted cutely to the side.

Erik huffed and made guttural sounds, trying to work out what to say before finally giving up and storming into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

It wasn’t until he was in the shower, rubbing himself furiously, that he thought that he should see it as a compliment. Charles had mistakenly confused his large erection as a tail.

Erik laughed uncontrollably as he came.

***

When Erik came out of the bathroom, Charles was perched on the windowsill. Watching calmly as birds fluttered outside on the mansion grounds and a pair of rabbits nibbled at the grass in the back acres. He looked peaceful.

Which was bullshit, because Charles was obviously here as retribution for all the misdeeds that Erik had ever committed in this life and those past.

Charles’s ears flickered back as Erik walked around the room picking up and fixing things until the room looked semi-decent, but Charles didn’t turn around once to look at him. Erik didn’t know if he felt relief or something else, something worse, that Charles wasn’t focusing his attention on him.

Sitting down on the couch, Erik came to a horrible decision.

“Charles, I need to speak with you.”

Charles finally looked at him, curious but not concerned by Erik’s tone.

“Please, come over here. Sit.” He gestured to the chair in front of him. Charles gave the window one last glance before hopping up and gracefully moving over to his corner, sitting down delicately on the chair facing Erik. “I want to explain to you what happened.”

“Why you were angry?” Charles asked, folding his knees up into his chest and curling his tail around his ankles.

“I wasn’t angry.” Erik sighed. “I was embarrassed.”

“Ok. But you looked angry, was it because your tail was growing out the wrong end?”

Erik buried his face in his hands. This was a lot harder to explain then he thought. Maybe Hank had a book or something, with pictures and small words and only the basic facts. Fortifying his resolve, he continued on, “Charles that wasn’t my tail. Human’s don’t have tails.”

Charles was staring at Erik’s crotch again, head cocked to the side as if contemplating what happened to the bulge he saw earlier. “So what was it? What happened to it?”

Taking a deep breath and letting it out through his nose helped. “It was my penis. In the morning, most males with a human body have an…affliction, you could say, where after sleeping they become aroused. It’s perfectly natural and harmless. In fact, studies have shown that it means the body is healthy and virile. ”

Erik was rather proud of himself. He explained it as nicely and neatly as he could and no one was traumatized by PowerPoint presentations or scary personal tales from Shaw like he had been. Goddamn man didn’t know the idea of ‘Too Much Information’ and that one needs to stop when their student was screaming that their ears were bleeding. That was when he learned that there were worse things than physical torture. Of course, that was before Shaw became truly evil. Tales of one’s teachers getting their rocks off in the closest bordello was nothing compared to finding the man murdering your mother so he could ‘protect you’.

Charles gapped at him. “S-So it means you’re sexually potent?”

“Err…Yes?”

“O-Oh!” Charles blushed. Nibbling on his thumb, Charles seemed to think it over for a few minutes.

Erik tried not to feel so sexually potent right now, watching Charles. He had just gotten off 10 minutes ago, couldn’t his dick give him a break!

“I see. So your body was saying it was ready to mate and you got angry because I, another male, was trying to interfere. I’m sorry Master, I didn’t know. Forgive me.” Charles eye’s watered. He looked crushed.

“No-no-no…Its nothing like that-”

“Oh Master, you have to be disgusted with me, another male trying to touch you like that!”

Charles looked seriously distressed.  “No, Charles! You have it all wrong, I don’t care that you’re male--I mean, not all humans are strictly heterosexual. I’m bisexual myself, and normally if another guy came at me like that I’d-- Wait. I’m rambling, back to the facts. I was just embarrassed that you saw me in that state. It wasn’t your fault, any of it.”

The curled up form sniffed, fluttering wet lashes up at Erik. “So you mate with other males?” Because yeah, that would be what Charles took away from that conversation. Someone out there really hated Erik.

“It’s… complicated.”

“Can you impregnate another male?” Charles ear twitched.

“No.” It didn’t bare thinking about.

“So why do you do it?”

“For pleasure?” How does one explain sexuality to a cat turned human? Sometimes Erik didn’t understand his own sexuality. Again, haven’t dated in 2 years. He could barely get off regularly because of his stress with work and running the Brotherhood. “People have sex with people they like. Sometimes it’s not about their gender. Like Azazel, you said he has sex with Raven and Janos.”

“I said he licks them.” Charles squinted at him.

“To some people that’s the same thing.”

Charles hummed, tail twitching against his feet. “I think…I understand.” He still looked confused, so Erik promised himself he would approach Hank for some books or even a good website address that could explain thing in detail to Charles. Things would be easier and less stressful for Erik if they didn’t hit weird snags like this in the future.

  

  1. “Well, enough about this morning. As long as we’re both okay it shouldn’t be a problem.” Erik clapped his hands together, startling Charles a little. “Do you think you’re ready to leave this room and meet the others officially?”      
  



“Oh!” Charles perked right up. “Yes, if you don’t mind. All night I kept thinking about what I would say to the kittens and tell them how much they each mean to me.”

Erik melted a bit at that. To see how Charles so obviously cared for each of the mutants in the house. It was refreshing from the usual fear and disgust that most humans had upon meeting them. Then again, Charles was originally a cat. He might not even know there was really a difference between human and mutant.

“Good. Anyone in particular you’d like to meet first?”

Without missing a beat Charles said, “Raven.”

Nodding, Erik paged her, asking her to meet them in her room.

She was already there; sitting on her bed and watching them both walk down the hall towards her.

“Hello, Charles.” Raven smiled.

Charles trembled, his whole body alert.  “Hi,” He said shyly.

Erik leaned against the door to watch.

“Would you like to come in,” Raven asked gently.

“Please,” Charles looked at Erik, who nodded back in permission. And like that, Charles was rushing to her, arms going around Raven and knocking their foreheads together. “Oh Raven, how can I ever repay you?”

“Whatever for?” Raven laughed, squeezing Charles back.

“For taking me in. You adopted me, when my original breeders didn’t want me. You gave me a home, gave me Erik.” Charles whispered, his voice thick with emotions.

Raven scratched one of Charles’s ears. “Silly. You were the cutest thing in that store. There was no way I was walking out without you.” They were so close their noses were practically touching.

 Erik suddenly felt he was being privy to something deeply personal between the two. “I’m going to go check with the others real quick. Join us for breakfast in an hour?”

Raven nodded, moving Charles to sit down next to her on the bed. Charles was wholly focused on the blue girl. Erik took a second to watch them both. They were totally absorbed in each other.

Shifting on his feet, Erik stormed downstairs, running right into Hank who was heading to his lab.

“Beast. Just the person I was looking for.”

“Uh, what?” Hank adjusted his glasses.

“I need to know if you have any books on sex?”

“What!” The blue skin under the fur turned purple.

“For Charles.” Erik snapped. Sometimes he wished everyone was a telepath, that way there were less misunderstandings. Though Emma liked to play dumb on purpose a lot just to cause a commotion. 

“Okay. For Charles.” Hank gave Erik a bizarre look. “I don’t have anything on hand but I can send Alex to the library later if that might help.”

“Yeah, that will work. And maybe have him pick up some other books to keep Charles entertained.”

“How is he by the way?”

“Charles? He’s fine. He remembers us.”

“As a cat?”

“Yes. Not that it matters.” Erik growled.

Hank must have picked something up in Erik’s tone. He quickly made an excuse to leave, scrabbling off to the lab as quickly as he could, promising to see everyone at breakfast.

Erik was left in the middle of the hall, suddenly alone and angry at everyone.

***

 “So this has been bugging me, but why do you have a British accent?” Sean mumbled around his pancakes.

Charles delicately poked at his food. “I’m guessing because the family I was born into were from the UK.”

“Wow, so you’re like one of those pedigree cats? That’s cool.”

Charles winced. “No, my coloration was a mutation, and I can’t be registered officially because I do not match the requirements no matter my breeding. Hence, the pet shop and cheap price for me.”

“Oh,” Sean looked perturbed. Raven kicked him under the table.

“Just another reason you belong with us I’d say.” Erik said, knocking his and Charles shoulder together. “We’re all mutated here so you fit right in.”

Charles looked up at Erik, some strange emotion in his blue eyes and a small smile on his red lips. Erik tried to will the blush away as he continued to eat. Emma was watching them from down the table with an exasperated expression.

“Erik, I was telling Charles I would take him shopping for clothes later if you don’t mind?” Raven said. Her eyes were still red rimed from when she and Charles came downstairs, whipping at their tears and laughing wetly.

The metal-bender wondered why everyone was deferring to him to hang out with Charles. He wasn’t his keeper… well, sorta. Erik would have to think about that. Technically, Charles was his cat, but Charles was now a human so…

“I’ll go along with you both, Mystique.” Emma’s voice cut through Erik’s musing. Charles shot him an alarmed look. “I need to pick up some new things and my winter fur coat should be in from Austria by now.”

Charles’s tail wrapped tightly around Erik’s leg and squeezed.

Feeling mean Erik said, “Sure. Have fun the three of you.”

“But, I wanted to take a nap,” Charles pleaded clutching at Erik’s arm with sharp nails.

“Nonsense. You don’t need as much sleep as you did as a full cat. Go, spend some time with the girls.” Erik grinned down at him, showing off all his teeth.

Charles whined in the back of his throat. As an apology, Erik gave Charles the rest of his eggs.

***

They had been gone too long.

Erik would expect a couple of hours for any normal group of girls (and 1 cat) to shop, then add in the fact that Emma had gone along so add a couple more. Perfectly normal. As long as he wasn’t there just to carry the bags then he had no care how long they were out and how much they spent.

Except it didn’t take bloody 7 hours to shop for clothes!

He had paced a trail from the living room to the entrance, when finally he heard the car pull up.

“What took you so damn long-- Oh scheisse--!” Erik stopped.

Just like in the movies, Charles glided into the house in slow motion. The wind making the tones of his hair glimmer in the sun, his smooth pale skin glowed with health, bright sparkly blue eye and a happy warm strawberry kissed lips tugging up into a smile.

Erik’s heart stopped beating.

“Please Erik, pick your jaw up off the floor.” Raven said from somewhere distant. “We just had the floors done.”

It was like Hanukah and Valentine’s Day all wrapped up together into one single package, and every bit of it was focused on Erik. If there had never been a more perfect moment in ever his life, of Charles walking towards him with so much positive emotion in that particular _outfit_ , then Erik could die a happy man and never regret anything ever again.

Erik went weak in the knees, stumbling into the hat rack.

Charles was wearing the ugliest outfit ever to be conceived: an orange Hawaiian shirt with blue/green camo shorts and a straggly yellow scarf. Not counting the old green trucker hat that Charles had been forced to wear, plaid canvas shoes he borrowed from Sean, and the fuzzy belt that was most likely his tail.

No One. Absolutely no one, could ever say Erik was the worst dresser ever.

Never again shall the people of the Brotherhood scorn him for his fuchsia and purple outfit.

Never again.

Not even someone with Charles natural charm and good looks could pull that outfit off. How the hell did Charles even get Emma to willingly be within a mile of him?

Huh, Erik thought. Suddenly the outfit made sense.

“Erik!” Charles cried out once he saw Erik bent over near the entrance.  Racing towards him he pounced, a ball of violent color that Erik was barely able to catch because his eyes were watering too much.

Charles looked tired but none the worse for the wear.

“Charles,” Erik wheezed. “Please tell me you got more than just the one outfit?”

Emma was scowling at the both of them. Raven looked like she was trying not to burst out laughing.

“He has horrible taste in clothes Erik.” Emma sniffed. “If it was up to him he’d be wearing old cardigans and velour pants because they ‘felt nice’. Luckily we were there to talk some sense into him.”

Charles shrugged innocently, looking clueless as to his fashion faux pas.

“I see.” And he really, really did. “Did you buy pajamas at least?”

“Oh yes!” Charles vibrated in place. “They were quite nice. Very comfy.”

Erik shot Raven a distressed looked. “They’re blue and white striped cotton,” She said, motioning to the trunk of the car that was filled with bags of clothing. Erik had no doubt that they had bought all the essentials for Charles, it was what else they had talked Charles into buying that worried him. He knew the kind of taste Emma had in clothes.

“I would very much like to see them. Would you mind trying them on for me Charles?” Erik asked nicely. Truthfully, his eyes were starting to hurt looking at Charles. There were colors on that shirt that wasn’t in the normal prism color spectrum.

“Sure.” And Charles was racing back to the car, nearly bumping into a startled Janos (who screeched like Banshee after he had a good look then turned quickly on his heels and stumbled away). Locating the bag Charles dashed upstairs to Erik’s room to change. The door slammed, echoing down the quiet hallway.

“You two are a match made in heaven.” Emma said, looking down at Erik’s sprawled form. “I’ve heard of people reflecting their pets, but that was ridiculous. Do you know how many pink and red outfits we had to tear from his little grubby paws?”

Erik blinked cluelessly up at her.

“Enough. Let’s just say enough.” Raven grumped, standing next to Emma. The pair of them could be somewhat intimidating when glaring down at someone. “Next time you can take him. Shop for all the silly purple cardigans and tweed jackets to your heart’s content, but I’m embarrassed enough never to show my face in town again.”

“Maybe he’s colorblind?” Emma suddenly suggested questionably, looking up towards the room Charles was in.

It would make sense.

Erik had finally picked himself off the floor and helped unload the car when Charles finally returned. He looked much better. The pale blue against the white matched him perfectly. Bringing out his eyes and softening the overall image of him.

“Do you like?” Charles did a twirl, tail curled into an ‘S’ and ears perked strait up.

 “You look lovely.” Erik conceded.

Charles blushed, digging his toes into the carpet. “Thank you Master.”

“Master?” Both Emma and Raven said in stereo behind him.

“So you ready for that nap Charles!” Erik grabbed Charles by the arm and hurriedly raced back to his room before anymore could be said.

  ***

The next day was spent lazing around outside in the backyard. Erik laid out in the garden with Charles beside him, crewing on some grass.

“This is nice.” Charles purred.

 Erik nodded, too lazy to answer. The sun was shining brightly down on them and it was cool enough not to be bothersome. The house was quiet, most activity on the other side of the wing. The others were preparing for a mission.

It is a lovely day, Erik reminded himself.

And Erik had been banned from joining them.

If he wasn’t enjoying relaxing so much with Charles he might have hated them.

He watched Charles crouch in the grass, butt wiggling as he watched a pair of doves peck at the ground not too far away. Their soft coo’s and the rustling sound of the wind through the trees a reminder of the calming effects of Mother Nature, something Erik wasn’t use to. With his power he usually liked to stay near cities or anywhere there was lots of metal. It was disconcerting, but enjoyable. 

The doves looked up and Charles froze, flattening himself to the ground.

“Please tell me you aren’t thinking of catching them in your mouth.” Erik’s voice startled the birds and they flew off.

“Erik!” He was finally able to convince Charles to stop calling him ‘Master’, word had spread and everyone had been giving him raised eyebrows when they saw them both. Azazel had just leered at him.

“Those things have rabies.” Charles’ face appeared over him, blocking the sun. “Now that I think about it, did Raven ever take you to get your shots?”

“Ha. Ha. I got my shots when I was a kitten, before the pet store.” Charles brushed at Erik’s bangs with his fingers. “I just wanted to catch one. As a human with my hands, to see if I still had the agility. I would have let it go.”

“Is this some kind of cat thing? You once brought me a mouse when you were a kitten. It was cute, until you dropped it in my helmet and I didn’t notice until the next day when I put it on.”

Charles laughed. “I remember that. My first kill.” Then he deflated. “I felt so bad afterwards. I killed the mama mouse and the babies eventually died without her.”

“Good riddance.”

“Erik,” Charles chastised.

“They’re a bloody pest. Nesting in the house uninvited.”

“Kind of like us?”

Touché, Erik thought. Instead he scratched at Charles’ ears until the cat-man was purring deep in his chest. They lay there together, Charles’ head nestled on Erik’s chest as he combed his fingers through his hair. It was so peaceful.

Then Victor Creed walked out of the woods.

Erik’s vision was suddenly blocked because a growling cardigan wearing Charles was crouching over him, tail puffed out and ears backs.

“What’s this?” Creed smirked. “Boss having a lie-in while everybody else is working away.”

Erik severely hated being on the ground when confronting Sabertooth, he felt at a disadvantage, but Charles wasn’t letting up. Charles who was spitting and hissing, hackles raised as Creed circled them slowly.

“Ahh, I see our leader got himself a pet.” He sniffed the air. “He smells like you. What have you been up to boss, taming wild animals in your bed now?” His lips curled in a snarl.

“Back off, Victor.” Erik growled. He was able to move Charles enough he could sit up. Charles didn’t even react to Erik, all his focus was on the other man, keeping his back to Erik and his muscles tense for a fight. Even with all Erik’s powers, there was something about Victor Creed that made Erik think of a feral beast, something even he couldn’t control.

But the Brotherhood had a policy about harming their own kind. And they needed Victor Creed.

But if he hurt one hair on Charles’s head, Erik would have absolutely no problem disposing of him.

“How adorable!” A squeal came from above. Then Wade Wilson fell out of a tree in front of them.

***

Erik reluctantly leaves Charles alone with Wade and Logan (who came stumbling out the underbrush spiting leaves two seconds later) while he escorts Victor to the mission room.

“So wait let me get this strait, you left Charles, alone, with Deadpool?” Raven looks at him in disbelief.

“Logan’s watching them.” Is his only reply.

“Right, like that’s going to stop him from scarring Charles for the rest of his life.”

“They seem to like each other…”

“And that doesn’t make you even more worried?”

 He gives her a point for that one. Wade might be harmless at the moment, they’ve hired him and Wade isn’t a mercenary for the thrill of it. Mostly. Okay probably for the thrill of it, but a lot of it is for the money also. He won’t harm them until he’s paid.

Hopefully?

“Yeah, I’m going to go get Charles,” Erik trails off as he takes in the map before them. Everyone’s crowded around an outline of what looks like a kids summer camp. “What is that?”

Raven looks frustrated that Erik noticed but moves over enough to let him see. “There’s a camp down south that is holding mutant children.”

“Why wasn’t I informed of this!” Erik snarls, making Hank jump and almost spill his coffee.

“Because you’d be useless.” Emma sighs. “It’s in the middle of the woods and they’ve taken precaution against you. Also it’s a SUMMER CAMP. They are not harming the kids anymore then making them share bathrooms.”

“Explain.” Leaning over the table, Erik gestures for the group to keep talking.

***

In hindsight, Erik shouldn’t have spent the next hour in another room and left Logan to supervise Deadpool. It was like asking for trouble.

Stalking into the living room, he finds Logan smoking a cigar and reading Seventeen magazine, muddy feet up on the priceless furniture. Completely alone.

“Where Charles?”

“I dunno.” Logan shrugs.

“Where’s Wade?”

“Look bub, I said I dunno.”

“You’ll tell me where they are or I’m going to rip every piece of metal out of your body till--”

Logan drops the magazine, pouncing up off the couch and into a fighting stance. “Try it. I dare you.”

There’s a giggle from upstairs.

Both Erik and Logan look up, like they expect to see through the ceiling and see what unholy horrors are taking place up there. There is a moment where they look at each other and both their eyes are wide.

“Shit.”

Erik races upstairs, Logan right on his tail. Bursting into the drawing room, they stumble into each other as they come to an abrupt stop. Wade is just showing Charles the computer.

“-And this is what happens when you get gonorrhea . Not a pretty sight I imagine, but it could be worse. Click this link, let me show you what happens when you catch syphilis.” Wade was leaning over Charles shoulder as they surfed the internet. Charles eyes were wide and face drained of all color.

They didn’t even seem to notice Erik and Logan loud entrance at all.

“Can we go back to looking at that cat-furniture? I liked looking at those.” Charles said in a small voice.

“Sure. If you’re not worried about getting crabs.” Wade petted Charles. “Not the kind you eat either, the ones that give you mange. You won’t mind losing your fur would you?”

“Oh.” Charles boggles at the computer. God dammit, he looks like he actually believes him. Charles is entirely too trusting for his own good.

“Look I can tell you’re nervous about it. There’s more to sex then fluffy handcuffs and leather whips. It’s all fun and games until someone gets herpes. But trust me, it’s good that you learn about this now and not later when it starts to burn when you pee. I know what I’m talking about and your partner will thank you for it later.”

“No more!” “Stop it!” Erik and Logan both shout. 

Charles’s tail smacks Wade when he jumps up startled. “Erik! I didn’t hear you come in.” Charles looks upset, but Erik’s glare is solely for Wade.

“Were you showing him porn?”  He seethes.

Wade gives him a limp wrist. If they didn’t need him for the mission coming up, Erik would break him in half. “He asked. I was being a good friend and showing him some good sights.”

“About STD’s?” Logan asks confused. “What kind of friend would be that cruel?”

Wade puts his hand on his hips. “The kind of bro who doesn’t let another bros dick fall off because they didn’t wrap the package before giving the present.”

“Stop!” Erik yells in panic.

“But. Anal sex-”

 Erik makes a motion to cut him off. Why does being around this particular mutant want him to claw his brains out or settle in the vast arctic and become a hermit. Surly, living a solitary life isn’t as bad as people make it sound. You wouldn’t have to deal with the crazy hired help. He almost feels sorry for the humans they are sending the mercenary to deal with. His super power is obviously to make people kill themselves by being the most annoying man alive.

“No. Just no.” Erik says, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.

Charles watches them, brows furrowed. “Did I do something wrong.”

“Awe, he’s just so cute.” Wade pinches Charles cheeks. The ones on his face. If he even thought of pinching the others, Erik would cut his hands off.

“This is stupid.” Logan turns around and heads back downstairs.

“No, Charles. You did nothing wrong.” Erik puts his hand out for Charles to come to him. “Let’s go, Wade is needed down in the mission room anyways.”

“Fine.” Deadpool pouts, scuffing the floor with his feet. “Charles, remember my advice. And check the mail in 4-7 business days and your order should be in.” He mumbles like a petulant child.

“What order? Did you buy something off the internet?” Erik growls.

Wade perks up. “Oh, I did wonder.” He looks at the arm Erik has around Charles’ waist. “Hmm, yeah he’ll probably appreciate what you got. Remember how Sugar Honey used hers in the video Charles, recreate that for Metal-man here and you’ll have him wrapped around your pinky in no time.”

Erik doesn’t know what it was that stopped him from murdering the ignorant fool right there, but he thinks it might have been Charles wringing his hands, looking ill at ease. Erik uses his power to push Wade out the door, erasing the whole conversation from memory. Its best if he just imagines none of this happened at all.

“Come on Charles, let’s go find you a snack.” Erik leads Charles out the door a few quietly awkward minutes later.

Wade somehow pantomimed ‘pancakes’ from down the hall. Erik pretended not to see. Charles, confused, just waved goodbye.

“That man,” Charles’s ears flickered down against his head. “Not Wade, the one that you took to the room. He’s a bad man Erik.”

“Sabertooth?” Erik asked, walking beside Charles down to the kitchens.

“Yes.”

“Charles, a lot of the people who live here aren’t exactly good people. Surely you know this?” In fact Charles seemed taken with the worst of their lot: Raven, Deadpool, him.

Charles hesitated. “I do. But that man, he smells like blood. Lots and lots of blood. He wants to harm you, us, everybody. He’s dangerous.”

Erik snorted. “I’d like to see him try.” Pushing open the doors with his powers, he escorted Charles inside the kitchen.

He sat Charles down as he pulled out some bowls and mixing material. He was going to make Charles some of his favorite cheese biscuits. As a cat, Charles had a tendency to try to steal scraps whenever they made some so maybe the taste for them had carried over.

“Will the kittens be safe around them without you there?” Charles said, chin cradled in his hands as he watched Erik with his huge blue eyes.

Wondered what exactly Charles was referring to; The mission that Erik had been forced not to go on or the fact that Victor was going with them while they stayed here. Unless Wade or Logan told Charles of the mission details he didn’t think Charles knew much about it.

“They should be. Emma will be leading it this time, and compared to most missions it’s fairly simple.”

“Then why do they need that man and Deadpool?”

Erik was whisking the mix, so he turned to give Charles most of his attention. “They are backup. Alex thinks the whole Summer Camp thing is too easy and that it might be a cover for something more sinister, if so, they need a way to destroy the place a quickly as possible.”

“Will anybody be hurt?”

Erik didn’t answer. Looking out the window past Charles shoulder, he watched the wind blow through the trees. By tonight they’d know what the humans were doing to the youngest of their kind.

Whether the humans deserved their punishment was yet to be seen.

***

With most of the people out of the house, Charles felt comfortable leaving Erik’s side to explore. So while Erik paced the hallways and did his weird nervous cleaning that sprung up when he was anxious, Charles wandered his territory with new eyes.

Even though everyone seemingly accepted Charles into their family readily, a few were uncomfortable by his presence for some reason.

Hank especially.

Charles wondered if it was the beast in him. If the threat of a seemingly familiar cat trudging into his territory had messed with his senses? Hank hadn’t seemed to mind when he was a cat, so Charles was confused by the new attitude he was receiving as a human.

He sneaked down into Hanks lab.

Being taller and having fingers really were amazing, Charles thought gleefully. There were so many things he could do now.

There was a folder with his name on it. Surely that meant it was for him.

***

By evening Erik had scrubbed all the silver and dusted every top shelf in the library.

Waiting really wasn’t his strong suit. There was a reason he went on pretty much every mission, he wasn’t one to sit idle by as everyone put themselves in danger. The fact that there were children out there that might be subject to the sick cruelties of the humans was even worse.

He needed a distraction.

Hunting down Charles was a pain. Mostly because somehow Charles was able to hide his 5’4’’ body into little nooks and crannies as well as he did as a tiny furry cat. It was quite baffling.

It took almost an hour before Erik gave up and just re-searched every room Charles liked to haunt a third time before he heard something that might sound like heavy breathing in the library.

“Charles?”

There was a hiccup from behind the couch.

Approaching cautiously, Erik peered over the back. Hidden in the shadow between the wall and the couch was Charles, curled up like a small child. Head tucked under his hands and tail wrapped around his feet, he looked almost asleep, expect for the startled jumps of gasping sobs wracking his body.

Erik slid to the floor, fingers running through Charles hair and around his ears, cupping his head so he could get Charles to look up. “Hey buddy, what’s wrong?”

“Mee-ow!” Charles wailed. Large tears falling down his cheeks and snot dripping from his nose, he looked a right mess.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. Whatever it is, I’ll fix it. Stop crying.” Erik said soothingly, trying not to freak out. Charles didn’t look injured, he would hope he’d heard something if Charles had hurt himself or there was a commotion loud enough to startle Charles this bad, but he was at a loss. The cat had never done anything like this before.

Charles hiccupped. “Noa….” He scooted forward enough to bury his head in Erik’s lap, getting the clean dark pants damp and dirty. Erik could care less about his clothes.

“Charles,” Erik tried again. “Come on little guy, tell me what’s wrong. I can’t help if I don’t know what happened.”

If anything, Erik’s sympathy only made Charles curl up into a tighter ball, his ridiculously perfect legs scooping up against his chest Erik could barely see them under the rest of him.

Enough was enough. Erik didn’t think twice before pulling Charles by his wrist up and into his lap. Charles pressing his messy face into the curve of Erik’s neck and his small, clawed fingers grasping at his shoulders.

Erik rocked Charles for a couple of long, torturous minutes, until the hysterics became something more normal of good cry. Hiccups intermingled with little cat noises and sharp nails kneaded at Erik’s back.

“There, there,” Erik whispered. “Everything’s fine. You’re okay, I got you.”

Charles’ tail lay limp behind him, a disquieting, unmoving dark brown against the white papers and tombs of the books littering the little nest he had made behind the couch.

“Erik.” Charles barely wibbled out. In encouragement, Erik ran his hands down Charles’ spine, hoping the familiar gesture would help.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t want to die.”

It was like being struck by lightning while standing naked in an open field with an umbrella. Erik tensed, looking around the room for any suggestion that either of them were in any danger.

“You won’t. I promise.” Erik tried not to growl, pulling Charles tighter to him. He’d flee with the man in his arms if it meant that Charles would be okay. Mansion be damned, with all their belonging along with it. “Talk to me Charles. Tell me why you think you’re going to die. Did someone say something?”

Erik was going to rip someone limb from limb.

“The book and my folder.” Charles breathed harshly against Erik’s neck, tickling the longer hair there. “It said the stronger mutant will destroy the weaker ones. That we can’t live in harmony.”

His heart dropped into his stomach and Erik wondered why he’d ever kept that silly book, had drawn his greatest speeches from its horrible pages.

“No, you got it wrong--”

“Noay!” Charles shouted, obviously trying not to sob again. “I’m homo sapien felis. Not homo sapien superior. No coexisting.” His nails drawing blood where they squeezed at Erik’s skin. Erik barely grunted, instead he moved Charles around enough he could look him in the face.

Pale, devastated blue eyes looked into Erik’s own.

“That book is wrong. You are one of us.” Erik held Charles by his neck so he couldn’t look away. “I don’t care what Hank or others say. You’re family. As a cat, as a human, as a mutant; it doesn’t matter. You belong here, with us, with me. You get that?”

Charles looked uncertain, wet lashes fluttering as he wiped his face with the back of his hand.

“Charles?”

“Yeaow.” He gave a sniffle and tried again. “Yeah.”

“Good.” Erik sighed. Feeling his tense muscles release as Charles slumped back into him. He started petting at Charles’ back again, hoping he would relax enough he didn’t look like he was about to shatter at any given moment. “You’re okay now?”

“Yes.” And it seemed like he did. Charles was no longer crying, only his chest rattling as he tried to get his breathing under control again. “I don’t like how humans cry. I feel awful.”

“You’re just dehydrated.” Erik laughed softly, hands settling on Charles’ lower back. “You gave me a quite a scare there, are you sure your alright?”

“I just don’t want to be alone,” Charles muttered, his whole body drooping. “I’m the only one of my kind, not fully cat, not fully human. A half breed, who doesn’t belong in this world. Some kind of freak of nature…”

Erik knew Hank’s words even if they were being parroted out of Charles delicate pink lips. He might possibly hate McCoy more than Shaw at this very moment. At least Shaw let him believe he was somewhat special among his kind, at least until he tried to turn him into some kind of monster.

“You won’t be alone. Ever.” Erik felt like his voice was being ripped out of him. “If I’m not here, you have Raven or anyone else in this house. I think even Emma would take you along with her if need be. We love you.”

“Even like this,” Charles gestured to his body, looking miserable at his tail and scrawny ankles.

“You’re perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing.” Erik said lightly against his temple. “And I’m your master, what I say is law.”

Charles gave a wet cough before he burst out laughing.

***

Like a six year old, Charles pretty much passed out after a good cry. Emotions and exhaustion getting the best of him, he slipped quietly into sleep against Erik’s chest. Warm body pressed against his own, Erik felt his own eyes droop as he leaned against the wall of the library.

He remembered a time before Shaw when he thought he was totally alone. The relief when he met Emma for the first time. How palpable it was to experience another’s power, to know the world had expanded enough that things were no longer so bleak. Shaw’s dark promise that there were more out there like them.

 And poor Charles, he really was the only one of his kind.

All because of Erik.

Hugging Charles tightly to him got him a mutter from the cat-man, tail lashing against his thigh even as its owner slept on. He wondered if it made him a bad person that he didn’t feel even an ounce of guilt for what had happened.

He dreaded the thought that this was only temporary.

***

A commotion downstairs woke Erik and Charles from their doze. Muscles ached as they tried to untangle themselves, Charles’ tail getting wrapped up in Erik buckle and Erik’s hands snagging in Charles’ hair hindered them. Both yelped as they tumbled to the floor.

“Erik!” Raven yelled up the stairs. Her voice was loud, but she didn’t sound distressed.

Erik’s stomach uncurled from the knot it had twisted itself into when the team first left.

Charles licked his palm before running it through Erik’s hair, straitening it so it wasn’t standing on end. “Go, I’ll be down in a minute. They need you and you need to see them. I need a glass of water and a change of clothes before I’ll be presentable.” He tried to smile, but it only made his expression sad.

“Don’t take too long,” Erik ran his thumb over Charles’ cheek, feeling the dry skin where tears had once fallen. “They need to see you too.”

This time the smile looked more genuine.

Downstairs in the lobby, Erik ran into most of the group and a couple of new people. Everyone looking safe and happy, Alex with a cut lip being the most serious injury, which was being tended to by a skinny black man.

Erik headed straight for them.

“You okay there?” He glanced over Havoc, noticing he was covered in dirt.

“Yeah, yeah.” Alex strained to look over Erik and towards Logan-- who was being harassed by a midget in sunglasses.

“Oh, are you their leader?” The other man asked. “I’m Armando, but everyone calls me Darwin.” Darwin held out his hand for Erik to shake, grinning happily. Erik took his hand in a firm grip.

“Magneto.” Erik looked him over, not seeing any obvious mutation. The man was very skinny, clothes hanging limply off his shoulders. Erik felt something in him relate to the boy. “You okay?”

“Me? I’m good man.” Darwin smiled brightly. “It was just a level D facility. Soft science and stuff, nothing military grade. Besides the kids, there were only 3 others being held there.”

Emma appeared at his side in seconds. “A word.”

Giving Alex a pat on the back, Erik walked with her to a corner farther away from the group.

“Havoc’s instinct was right. They were weeding out mutants in the children going to the Summer Camp and taking them to a facility about 200 yards away. Nothing truly overt, just DNA samples and ID work, but we brought them here just in case. Beast grabbed one of the laptops so we can see what they really had planned.”

“Darwin mentioned 3 others?”

“Adults. Two went off on their own once they were released. From what I gleaned from the scientist, the children would be picked up at a later date depending on the level of their power.”

“Any experiments done on any of them?” Erik knew he sounded curt but Emma would understand. She would understand best.

“The adults-yes. Children-no.” Emma glanced towards two of the children, both girls who were holding Raven’s hands and looking up at her with wide eyes. “One’s an orphan. The red head has parents that know of her mutant ability, so I’ll handle them. The boy,” She broke off, glancing towards Alex. “He’s Havoc’s missing sibling. Doesn’t want to go back to his foster family and it’s probably best he doesn’t.” 

Erik hummed, looking the group over again. Victor was missing, but Erik truly wasn’t concerned. Wade was showing off his bloody swords to a crooning Sean and Janos, while Logan was trying to shake Alex’s brother off his leg where he clung like a limpet. Everyone else was crowded around Hank and the computer.

“Oh!” A startled gasp came from the entrance.

“He’s a kitty!” The little red head squealed.

“Kittens!” Charles practically bounced on his toes.

‘Surprise, surprise,’ thought Erik. ‘Charles and the children got along.’

It was horribly domestic. Three little squirts hopping and twirling around the man, petting his tail and asking to scratch his ears. Jean, the red head, was pathetically enamored and hanging off Charles’ arms like a bungee cord. Ororo, the other little girl, stared up at Charles with awe and something like instant devotion, asking shyly to hold his hand. Hanging on to the end of Charles’ tail, Scott just sneezed.

So beside some light allergies, Charles had a new fan club. A fan club he obviously adored right back from all the squeaks and mews he gave when he petted a child’s head.

“Erik they’re wonderful.” Charles whispered, looking up at Erik with sparkling blue eyes. Erik barely resisted puffing out his chest and only because Raven sent him a scathing look. “Can we keep them? The pride needs a new litter, the other kittens are getting old enough to start their own.”

Blinking, Erik wasn’t sure how to answer. Was Charles seriously indorsing kidnapping?

“Maybe,” Emma answered for him, seeing his flabbergasted look. “Scott and Ororo, definitely. We will have to talk with Jean’s parents first before we make any permanent plans with her.”

“I wanna stay…” Jean whined, engaging Charles’ attention once again. “Mom won’t let me have a kitty. Can I take you home with me if they don’t let me stay here?”Charles cooed and nuzzled her cheeks. Patiently sitting still as Ororo climbed him like a jungle gym and hung off his back.

Wade giggled.

Looking around, Erik saw everybody watching. Smiling. He’d never felt so proud of his rag tag team of mutants before until this very moment.

***

Erik lay propped against the pillows in bed, reading a book, lazily ignoring Charles as he crawled across his legs (and once bit his toe. Erik made Charles swear not to tell anyone about the noise he made) as he ran from one side of the room to the other, totally ignoring the fact he could walk around the bed instead of across it.

“Settle down.” Erik grunted when Charles’ kneed him in the stomach.

“Hmm?” Charles swiveled an ear in his direction.

“You should get use to a normal bed time schedule. How are you going to take care of the childr-kittens when you don’t even follow the same household rules?”

Charles pounced, landing roughly in Erik’s lap.

Erik suddenly mourned his libido, who didn’t find this near as sexy as he use to. Too many boney knees and elbow jabbing sensitive body parts.

“How so?”

Setting his book aside, Erik crossed his arms to stare down at Charles. “You can’t make them take baths if you refuse to take a shower yourself. It’s a bit hypocritical.”

Charles pursed his lips. He’d been getting away with using a wet wash cloth, but there was only so much Charles could try to keep clean before even he started to smell. His hair was starting to look a bit oily.

“I don’t like getting wet.”

Erik sighed. “I know, but you shouldn’t let that fear stop you. There are statistically small percentages of bathroom related injuries in America now and days. Unless you’re Sean, then it’s just a fact of life you have to live with.”

Charles squirmed. “What if I drown?”

“I’ll be right here. If you feel you’re in any danger, just holler.”

“Fine. But you have to fill up the large bowl for me.” Charles said petulantly.

Oh God, Erik was so happy. He was tired of getting those ‘looks’ from Emma every time she deigned to scratch at Charles’ ear in passing. Not that Charles smelt horrible, for someone who hadn’t taken a shower in what constituted as a week, he only smelled a little musky.

Dashing into the connecting bathroom before Charles changed his mind, Erik started filling the tub. He didn’t want to startle the cat with any of the bubble baths or salts, so he settled for tossing a pink rubber ducky (don’t ask, he won’t tell) into the rising waters.

Charles peeked around the corner of the door.

“Come on, it’s safe.” Erik demonstrated by sticking his foot into the mildly warm water.

Charles slinked into the bathroom, ears back and tail at attention. Completely naked.

Erik slipped and fell into the tub. He resurfaced sputtering, grabbing the edge of the large tub before he sank back under.

Charles was plastered against the far wall, fur standing completely on end, and looking like he wanted to climb the ceiling. If it wasn’t for the worried look he shot Erik over his shoulder he would have been angry by the sudden lack of concern.

“Meow. Meow.” Charles murmured. “Erik, meow.”

Erik distantly thought it was cute how Charles regressed to ‘cat-speak’ when he was frightened or flustered.

With great reserve Charles was able to peal himself from the wall and tip-toe to the edge of the tub.

Erik stared up at him, wet and soggy, wondering if it all was a horrible dream.

“Yoa.” Charles grunted. “Y-you okay?”

“Yeah,” Erik said breathlessly.

Charles squinted at him. “Did you want to take a bath with me?”

Charles brightened. “That’s a good idea!” He moved forward, only hesitating slightly as he stuck his big toe in the water. Erik decidedly kept his eyes on that toe, it was very important that he did.

For his sanity.

“No! Wait!” Erik sputtered. “We can’t take baths together!” His arms felt heavy from the soaked clothes, but it didn’t stop him from gesturing wildly and flinging water everywhere. 

Predictably, Charles ignored him, giving a shiver as he submerged his feet into the water. Erik’s face heated as he watched the pale skin turn slightly red from the temperature of the water. Then, Charles took a deep breath and sat down.

“Huh.”

Erik blinked. “What?”

“This isn’t so bad.” Charles gave him a small smile. “I feel better with you right there. I wouldn’t be nearly as brave about this without your presence.”

Erik shifted, spilling water over the rim. “Charles…”

“Oh, what’s this!” Charles picked up the rubber ducky.

Erik thumped his head against the tile. He just gave up. Fate obviously hated him. The most clueless, sexiest, kindest, cutest man on earth was sitting in a bathtub with him naked and he couldn’t think of a single way to extract himself gracefully without drawing Charles’ attention to his little ‘problem’. Because Charles would notice Erik’s ‘tail’ was making a valiant effort to escape its confines. It was the cat-man’s superpower, to find Erik’s weakest and most humiliating conditions and exploit them. Or draw lots of attention to it.

It wasn’t fair.

So he threw in the towel. He gave up.

Fine, if life was going to throw naked Charles’s at him, he was going to take advantage of it. Maybe then his blood pressure would go down and he’d stop going to bed at night dreading the moment he woke up and found Charles sprawled all over him and feeling like a pervert. If being attracted to the human version of his cat made him a pervert, then okay! He was a pervert.

God forbid Erik try to be a decent person and not take advantage of poor Charles.

Shimming out of his wet shirt and pants, he flung the wet clothes on the floor with a wet flop. Even thought they weren’t hiding much, he left his boxer briefs on. For decency’s sake.

Charles had just discovered the rubbery ducky squeaked.

“Turn around,” Erik grunted. “I’ll wash your back.”

***

Even though Erik acknowledged his desires for Charles, he wasn’t going to outright molest him.

In fact, if anything, Erik didn’t have to do anything but stop complaining when Charles’ molested him.

Things were defiantly looking up for him.

Waking up the next morning, Charles was curled cutely on his chest, staring wide eye at Erik as he slept.

Geez, Charles could be such a creeper.

“Hello?”

Erik tried to say something back, but what came out of his mouth wasn’t any sort of language known. Charles cocked his head to the side, kitty ears perking up at the strange sounds his master was making.

“What does that even mean?”

Erik tweaked one of Charles’ ears, getting lashed with his tail in revenge. Erik just smirked sleepily back at him.

Charles flushed a deep red.

 “Why are you up so early?” Erik yawned.

Charles dug his chin into Erik’s chest, nuzzling into the metal-benders loose shirt. “The birds woke me.”

“Ignore them,” Erik said. “You need as much sleep as you can get. It’s your job to babysit from now on, and those kittens won’t let you get a minute of rest.” Charles sighed, scooting forward to nuzzle at the underside of Erik’s chin and neck. Erik petted Charles from his ears to the edge of his pajama pants, fingernails lightly scrapping the base of his tail and making Charles shiver.

“Mmm, kittens.” Charles murmured, cold nose against Erik’s warm skin.

They must have fallen into a light doze because the clock on the side table said that half an hour had passed. Curly brown locks tickled at Erik’s collarbone, running a hand through Charles’ hair he kissed lightly at the cat’s forehead.

 Charles ‘mew’-ed, fluttering his startling blue eyes awake.

“Charles,” Erik sighed.

“Erik.” Charles sat up, looking down on Erik. The sun from the window gave Charles a halo, casting him in an almost ethereal light and stealing Erik’s breath away.

He wasn’t sure who moved first, but suddenly there were lips meeting. Lips brushing lightly against each other, almost hesitant and shy. Chaste by all accounts, not even to be considered the hottest or sexiest of kisses that Erik had experienced, but easily one of the top five.

In a blink it was over though and Erik was staring up at Charles, who was blushing and licking his lips.

“What brought that on?”

Erik touched his lips, the tingling sensation lingering. “Intentions?”

Charles huffed. “To be your mate.”

“Mate?” Erik croaked.

Giving Erik an exasperated sigh, Charles plopped down onto Erik, nuzzling at his temple. “I’m going to court you. Show you I’d be the perfect mate for our pride.”

“Mate?” Erik repeated.

***

Well, there was acknowledging that you were attracted to your cat’s human form and there was acknowledging your cat wanted to be your mate. Erik hadn’t thought that giving into to the idea of no longer complaining when his pet was a tease or walked around naked would end where said pet informed you that it had plans to have sex with you and rule your pride with honor at your side.

The cake was literally saying ‘eat me’, and Erik had no idea what to do.

So like any normal person in a confusing situation, Erik asked Google.

And scared himself for a lifetime by clicking a YouTube video link. The myth about cat’s howling while in heat: true. Cat’s having barbed penises: scarily true. Just the idea of ‘teaser toms’ was so horrific, Erik didn’t even know where to begin with that one.

Erik had a premonition that he was going to stress himself out trying to divine what Charles had in mind by ‘courting’. God, if Charles talked to Emma or Raven about this, everything was over. Erik would just have to resign himself to the humiliation and bend over right now, because with those two superpowers behind Charles, Erik would be his bitch in no time.

 “Hey man, you okay?” Darwin slapped Erik on the shoulder, making him jump in fright. Erik had been so engrossed he hadn’t even heard the study door open.

“Yeah, yeah. Why? Do I not look okay?” Erik was sure he was sweating bullets.

“Not really,” Darwin shrugged. “I know I’m new here and all, but if you need someone to talk to that won’t really judge you- I’m here.”

Oh. Erik hadn’t expected for another sane person to join their group in so long he’d nearly given up hope. Obviously something had gone right when fate brought Darwin into their family.

“I’m good. Thank you for the offer though.” Erik tried to smile back, but knew it looked strained. “Personal problems that’s all.”

“Oh, is this about your boyfriend? Alex told me about him.”

“He did?” Erik scowled.

Darwin nodded. “Yeah, about how he’s originally a cat and all. I think it’s sweet that he’s so precious to you. I use to have a dog when I was little who was my best friend, and I would have given anything for him to be human, so I really don’t see anything weird about yalls relationship.”

Erik groaned. “It’s complicated. And Alex shouldn’t be blabbing about my relationship problems or otherwise to everyone he meets. I swear, this household is like high school all over again.”

Laughing, Darwin slapped his back in companionship. “It’s cool. They laugh about it but I can tell they all think there’s something special going on.”

Something special all right, Erik agreed.

He spent the rest of the afternoon talking with Darwin, telling him about the Brotherhood and their agenda. If there was anything more self absorbing then the idea of Charles and sex, it was Erik’s passion for his cause. In fact, he’d rather forgotten about Charles and his proclamation by dinner time, and therefore was utterly flabbergasted by spotting Charles in an apron when they both headed down to supper.

“Charles?” Erik asked bewildered by the scene in front of him.

The man in question twirled on his toes, making the frills on the purple apron (Janos’s) twirl about. “Erik!” Charles smiled beautifully, the purple of the outfit making his eyes almost otherworldly.

Darwin looked between them before he smirked. “I’ll tell the others you’ll be a moment.” Darwin walked into the dining room, giving Charles a last minute stage whisper to ‘go easy on him’ before disappearing behind the heavy doors.

“Charles, what’s all this?” Erik indicated the shorgasbord. Charles has cooked a feast fit for a kingdom, the heavy aroma of roast mixing with the sweet smells of streusel along with the spicy sent of curry. The counters full of bowls and pans of every type, all sorts of Erik’s favorite foods.

He hadn’t even known Charles knew how to cook. 

Charles looked demur, blushing lightly as he glanced up at Erik from under his long, curly eyelashes. “I wanted to show you that I can provide food for our family. I know I can’t hunt mice and birds like I would if I was a cat, so Janos suggested I use a cookbook instead.” He suddenly looked stricken by a thought. “Do you not like it? As the dominate male I know most would want to provide the food themselves but-but…” 

Erik touched Charles’ chin, bringing his face up so he wasn’t staring so intently at the ground. “Charles, this is lovely. More than lovely.”

Giving into the desire, he leaned down and kissed Charles lightly on the lips.

“Oh,” Charles sighed.

It took a few moments for Erik and Charles to join the rest of the family at dinner, Charles’ shooing Alex over and seating Erik pointedly at the head of the table and giving himself the seat to the right of Erik. Erik used his powers to bring the trays full of food into the dining room where everyone oh-ed and awed at the assortment of food, making Charles blush and squirm in his seat.

“This is the best,” Sean said with a mouth full of food. “You need to cook every day.”

“Never leave us.” Raven begged, moaning over her shrimp scampi. “You have to stay. If I have to eat one more TV dinner, I’m likely to kill someone.” Alex glared at her in reply to his time to cook on Weds.

“Thank you,” Charles looked over towards the younger kittens, making sure they were eating something beside sweets. Logan was shoveling his own vegetables onto Scott’s plate.

“God, just marry me.” Janos said, reaching over the table to grab Charles’ hand and nearly getting stabbed by Erik’s fork. “You know what, marry Magneto instead. You can be his wife and make him adopt us, so then you have to cook for us all the time. It will be your duty.”

Charles looked like he was about to cry, lips wibbling as he looked around at all the happy faces sending him praises as they stuffed their mouths full until their cheeks were puffed out like chipmunks. Even Emma was bent over her plate and brandishing a knife as she stole the last piece of Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake (it deserved to be capitalized).

Erik felt oddly proud of everyone, giving each one an indulgent smile as he petted Charles knee under the table.

Later that night, with Charles curled around Erik in bed he let his defenses down. Surly being courted by Charles wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, everyone seemed to approve of the idea if all the eager looks he’d received after Janos’s comment meant anything.

Really, he should have known better. Looking back later, Erik knew that was the moment he should have braced himself. Because being courted by Charles was a lot like bracing oneself for war and Charles had just lured his enemy into a false sense of security.

Charles was just beginning the strange torture of Erik Lehnsherr.

***

Erik woke alone. Not really concerned, he took his regular morning shower and dressed for training. Today he was going to help Angel and Sean with their flying.

His own power of flight was somewhat shifty and not nearly as versatile as Sean or Angel’s ability. But training with them helped. So for three hours that morning the three of them circled the sky’s outside in the backyard, scaring birds from their roosts when they flew too close to the trees.

“Hey, isn’t that Charles?” Angel pointed back towards the house, iridescent wings glittering in the sun, as they both floating in midair.

Erik looked around the grounds, not seeing anything. “Where?”

“There, on the roof.”

And there was Charles, walking precariously on the ledge of the flat roof, balancing almost drunkenly at the edge. Erik’s heart jumped in his throat, choking him off and stealing his breath. He was sure he was watching the last moments of the man he was coming to love before he fell to his odious death. Time seemed to slow down, the Earth rotating slower, and his power reaching out, grasping for any kind of lifeline to steady Charles. Even from this distance he could barely touch the metal buttons of Charles pants.

Charles wobbled, arms pin wheeling as he tried to get his balance. 

“Charles!” Erik yelled, trying not to fall out of the sky himself as he held Charles in place.

“I got him!” Angel hollered, buzzing faster than ever before. In seconds, which felt like years to Erik, she was beside him, grabbing his arms and pulling him back towards the center of the roof. Erik finally felt like he could breathe normally, he felt like he had aged centuries from this incident.

Charles hissed, swiping his hands out of Angel’s. “What are you doing!”

“B-but, you were about to fall?” Angel looked from Charles to Erik (who floated cautiously up to the roof).

“No I wasn’t!” Charles seethed.

Erik scowled at him. “Then what exactly were you doing up so high? Trying to give me-us a heart attack!”

Charles looked at Erik in confusion. “No. I was just testing my balance. I needed to be somewhere high up.”

His temper rising, Erik tried to control his breathing. “And why, pray tell, did you decided the top of a four story house was the best place for this and not somewhere normal-like the gym.”

“Phst.” Charles laughed, twirling the end of his tail around his fingers. “That’s nothing.”

Suddenly Erik understood. “Charles, you’re not a cat anymore. You might not land on your feet every time you fall.”

Charles took a step towards Erik, looking petulant. “But…” He glanced towards the edge of the building, furrowing his brows as he considered the distance.

Erik knew when he had a chance of winning an argument and took it. “If a human fell from this high, they could seriously hurt themselves or die. Please Charles, I can’t have something like that happen to you. It would kill me.”

Both Charles and Angel blushed. Angel staring at Erik like she’d never seen the guy before. You’d think he was such a hard-ass the way they stared at him for his treatment of Charles, like Erik was only kind to the smaller man.

 He was nice to everybody, dammit. 

“Just keep the acrobatics to the inside,” Erik said. “And to one story. That way if you overestimate yourself you won’t get hurt all that badly.” He grabbed Charles by the shoulder and looked around for the way he got up. “How the hell…?”

“What?”

“Do we even have a roof entrance?”

“I don’t know. I just climbed the trellis to get up here.” Charles shrugged.

 ***

So of course, now that Charles couldn’t send Erik into a heart attack by dancing around on the rooftop, he decided to scare Erik by dropping down on him from all heights around the house.

Erik came inside from watering the plants (hey, just because Magneto was a metal-bender didn’t mean he didn’t have a green thumb. It was like the fucking Versailles’s Garden in the backyard, he was that good). Swiping the sweat and grime off with a towel, he was in the middle of peeling his dirty shirt off when there was a loud “Surprise!” behind him and he was being tackled from above.

“ARGH!”

Oh God, Charles had broken Erik’s back. And not in the sexy way he’d always imagined breaking it.

“Dammit Charles!” Erik twisted around so he wasn’t face planted into the dirty rug. “What the hell?”

Charles looked genuinely perplexed as to why Erik might be angry. “What?”

“What on earth possessed you to jump on me from behind?” Erik glanced around, trying to find where Charles had hidden in wait for him. The only likely conclusion was the door. Charles had somehow balanced himself at the top of the door and the corner of the room, like some kind of freakish, furry Spiderman (who Erik had met, and wasn’t all that impressed with).

Charles wiggled, again something Erik would normally enjoy with Charles lying on top of him but pain was a sudden dampener once more “My hunting skills,” Charles chirped. 

Erik sighed forlornly. “What?”

“Proof I’m a good hunter. I can surprise the top predator in the area.” Charles smiled down at Erik.

He had to stop himself from repeating ‘what’ again. “You’re saying I’m the predator?”

“Well yes.” Charles said. “I’ve been informed you’re the most powerful mutant in the country actually. And I surprised you!” Charles cackled evilly. Erik’s pride demanded that he seek revenge for the humiliation of Charles getting one up on him, but he couldn’t find it in his heart to deny him the victory. The crazy critter was obviously proud of himself.

“So you did. Now that I’m your prey what do you plan to do with me?” Erik leered.

Startled by the turn of events, Charles blinked down at him with wide eyes. Glancing down Erik’s body and taking in the half torn shirt, tanned skin, and wind-swept hair. “Oh,” Charles licked his lips. “I’m sorry Erik, but us cat’s like to… play our prey before we…finish it off.”

Erik just bet he did.

Muttering, Erik tried to say something, but the blood flow to his cock took away all his concentration. Charles’ was sitting right on it, and even through the layers of clothes he had to feel it.

“What’s wrong,” Charles purred. “Cat got your tongue?”

Erik growled.

“Not yet.”Surging forward, he grabbed Charles by the back of the neck and smashed their lips together.

Charles ‘mew-ed’, nipping lightly at Erik’s bottom lip and bumping their noses together. Slipping him his tongue, Erik licked into Charles’ mouth, pulling him deeper into the kiss and stealing Charles’ breath away.

Unsure by how deep the kiss was getting, Charles paused.

With the moment of indecision, Erik rolled them over. Charles hung on by squeezing Erik’s waist with his thighs. Erik was now on top, lying in the valley of Charles’ body. Breathlessly, he ground their hips together. Charles blossomed under him, body going lax as the metal-benders harder body settled on top of him, clinging to Erik as he held on.

Purr deepening, the smaller man’s claws scratched down Erik’s back, sharp pain mixing with undisguised pleasure. Erik groaned into Charles’ mouth, knocking their teeth together as he tried to deepen the kiss even more.

This was fucking heaven.

“Oh gross.” A whiney voice said above them, totally ruining the mood.

With great reluctance, Erik disengaged himself from Charles. Charles followed him with his lips, like the fact that Alex and Scott standing over them were nothing of concern, and got sidetracked by nibbling on Erik’s ear instead. Scratching at the cat ears, Erik was able to divert Charles before he distracted him again.

“What.” Erik glared.

Alex screwed up his face, making him look 7 instead of 16. Scott obviously was the mature one in their family because the kid didn’t looked fazed at all.

Gesturing at the two men on the floor, Alex gapped at them.

“So.” Erik growled, holding Charles’ hip down when he tried to roll up into his. “Some privacy would be nice, we’re having a moment here.” Charles’ tail was doing unspeakable things to the crotch of his pants, luckily out of view.

“There are children present!” Alex squawked like a Victorian maiden, covering his brother eye’s uselessly.

“Please,” Erik scoffed. “He’s what, 8?” “10,” Scott supplied. “Whatever. I doubt seeing two men kiss is the worst thing he’s ever seen.”

Scott tugged at Alex’s sleeve. “I’ve seen a dead raccoon once. There were brains everywhere.”

“Oh gross.” Alex: the delicate flower of the Brotherhood.

“Oh!” Charles finally popped his head out from under Erik (where he’d been sucking an impressive hickey to the underside of Erik’s chin) “Are the kitten’s okay?”

“The kittens are fine,” Erik growled in frustration.

“The ‘kittens’ are not fine,” Alex squealed. “The kittens are traumatized and going to need therapy for years after this. I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep tonight unless Emma wipes this incident from my mind permanently.”

Erik’s “Drama Queen” was drowned out because Charles was wiggling out from under him. Looking all too concerned by the teen’s admission and totally ignoring Erik’s attempts to keep him under his body. Flopping dejectedly to the floor, Erik laid there in defeat. He couldn’t roll over or Alex might start up again about the tent in his pants, the little weasel.

His adoptive family must hate him. It was the only explanation for why they were all being a bunch of cockblockers.

Charles was fluttering about Scott and Alex like an excited schoolmarm, straitening their hair and actually tucking in their shirts for them. It was ridiculous how maternal he was with them.

“Are you hungry? Do you want some of the cookies I hid earlier?” Charles cooed over the boys. “I made them for Erik later. He gets kind of grumpy when he doesn’t have a snack right before bed and he refuses to go downstairs to get something, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sharing.”

If looks could kill, Alex and Scott would be piles of ashes right now.

Erik went to bed alone that night (and without his cookies either). Alex, the horrible teenager that Erik’s really starting to regret freeing from jail, had suggested to Charles that Scott was having trouble sleeping at night. Charles, who didn’t understand Scott or Erik’s horrified faces, had agreed to read Scott a story and tuck him in. Erik manfully resisted pouting and asking who was going to tuck him in if Charles didn’t, he had a reasonable fear that Charles would recommend Alex.

So Erik was lightly disturbed from sleep when a warm body curling up behind him at around 2am. Grunting when Charles pressed his cold feet against his ankles, Erik didn’t really wake up.

“Sorry,” Charles whispered, tail curling against the small of Erik’s back.

Erik just nodded back off, returning to dreams of singing clocks and winter mittens dancing the waltz.

***

He couldn’t breathe. In a panic, Erik awoke mid-sneeze.

The problem with his power was that when he sneezed, he somehow lost control, so any little bits of metal near him tended to go shooting to the other side of the room. It was weird and awkward, and Erik always felt horribly embarrassed afterwards. Coins, pens, little office material were the weapon of choice, and he’d once stabbed Azazel with a paperclip so hard in the back of the thigh he’d teleported to Cape Cod unintentionally. It made those instances when Erik caught a cold really uncomfortable and hazardous to one’s heath.

Eye’s tearing up, he glanced around his room. The God damn floor was covered in weeds!

Erik sneezed and the alarm clock exploded.

“Charles!” Erik’s runny nose made his voice sound like a chainsaw. He felt so awful. Who ever had done this prank was going to pay.

The cat-man was suspiciously absent.

Stepping off the bed, his feet landed on something crunchy. With a great sigh, Erik looked down. There were piles of chips, cookies, a bag of bagels, and even a container of Charles’ favorite cat treats surrounding the bed like some kind of offering to the Gods.

This had better be a joke that had gotten out of hand. Erik couldn’t even see the carpet anymore, and he refused to clean this mess up.

Sneezing, Erik’s dirty clothes exploded out of his laundry basket, the loose change in his pockets imbedding themselves in the ceiling.

Ignoring the scattered cat tails (the one plant Erik refused to put in his garden, simply because he was allergic) and piles of treats, Erik stormed out of his room. Not caring that he was only in his boxers and that everyone would be up by now and walking the halls.

He had a cat he needed to skin.

There was giggling coming from Sean’s room. Not even bothering to knock, Erik slammed the door against the wall. The occupants inside jumped.

“Erik!” Charles exclaimed, lying across Raven’s lap as Sean scratched his cat ears. Sean’s whispered eulogies of ‘so soft’ sending the other teens into another snit of giggles. They obviously didn’t know how much trouble they were in.

“What. The. Hell.” Erik growled, trying to look fierce as he sniffled. He didn’t know if it was his still watery vision or if there was smoke in the air, but everything looked foggy. “What happened to my room?”

Charles jumped up, swaying slightly and smiling. “Do you like my gifts? Raven gave me the idea.” Raven suddenly noticed Erik’s intent scowl and shook her head violently. Charles continued, “I was so sorry about yesterday, and you seemed upset. I was told flowers and treats were a good way to ask for forgiveness.” 

 God dammit why did Charles have to look so earnest, especially when he was probably high.

Squinting at Sean and Alex, Erik sneered. He hadn’t forgotten what Alex did last night. The bastard.

“What did you do to Charles?”

“Nothing!” Sean looked insulted Erik had even suggested the idea.

“Raven.” Erik knew would turn on the boys if it meant she stayed out of trouble. The woman had the right priorities.

“It’s just catnip.” She sighed. “He found Sean and Alex in here this morning and tried to confiscate their weed. They distracted him by giving him his old bag of raw catnip.”

Charles was suddenly clutching Erik around the waist, purring deeply and running his hands down Erik’s chest. “You’re so furry,” He sighed, twisting his fingers in Erik’s chest hair.

“This conversation is not over.” Erik pointed at the teens before turning on his feet and taking Charles back to his room.

“I miss my nipples.” Charles moaned. “I use to have 6 of them, now I only have 2.”

Erik practically carried Charles down the hall. The cat was totally slack in his arms, giggling insistently and dragging his feet. What the hell did catnip do to Charles? When he was a cat it had only made him extra lazy and affectionate, not utterly ridiculous.

“I miss my whiskers too. They were like another pair of hands…on my face. It was so cool.”

“I’m sure they were.” Erik said, barely avoiding tripping over Charles’ tail. Grunting when Charles twisted his fingers a little too sharply in the body hair leading down his abs and into his boxers.

Once back at Erik’s room, they stared at the mess. Charles purred in delight. Erik sneezed and sent a couple of jingle-balls flying across the room.

“Whoa.” Charles blinked, jerking as if to chase the balls.

“Whoa is right. You’re going to clean this mess while I shower.”

Charles whirled around, leaning into Erik’s hip. “You don’t like the flowers I got you?” He whined pitifully. “I searched all morning for the perfect thing. They’re both fun and pretty.”

“Charles, I’m allergic to them.” Erik sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. “Just, clean the mess before I get out.” He doesn’t look at Charles’ face unless he’d change his mind, those pathetic kitten eyes would be his undoing. Just in case, he locks the bathroom door behind him and valiantly tries to ignore the sounds outside.

Wanting to give Charles a few more minutes, he took his time. The heat from the steam helping his sinuses and easing the pressure of the headache he felt coming on. He was exhausted and he’d just woken up.  By the time he got out he couldn’t hear anymore shuffling or crinkling of bags being moved around.

In fact it was eerily quiet.

Wrapping a towel around his waist, he charged out to yell at Charles for slacking off. There was no way he’d gotten the dirt and little bits of plants off the carpet that fast.

He stopped dead in his tracts.

Charles lay on the bed, curled half way on his stomach with one hand down his pants, biting his other fist to muffle his whimpers.

Erik couldn’t see anything else in the room. All his focus was on the exhibition occurring in the bed.

Charles was masturbating.

In Erik’s bed.

And Erik was standing there watching with his mouth hanging open, and Charles didn’t seem to mind. In fact, once Charles noticed Erik standing in the door, he pulled his fist out of his mouth and moaned loudly, hand going to fist the pillow above him as he turned over enough so he could see Erik. Eye’s never leaving Erik’s as his hand worked furiously beneath his pants.

God this was horrible. Or Erik had slipped while in the tub, cracked his head open and he was now bleeding out and his brain had finally decided to give him a break and let him hallucinate. That sounded more reasonable then what was happening right in front of him.

What was Erik suppose to do?

Erik’s towel tries to abandon him in his moment of need. He tightly holds on to it, even though it’s hiding little of his arousal. Sure that if he becomes the naked one in the room that it’s all over.

Looking up towards the ceiling, Erik curses.

Charles moans loudly.

Erik curses in German.

God, does Charles have no shame? The bed squeaks and Erik finds himself watching again. It’s odd, even though he’s not really even seeing anything except concealed movement, this is possibly the most erotic thing he’s ever seen in his life. And he’s seen Charles naked on multiple occasions. How does that even work?

Charles is rolling his hips now, thrusting into his hand and biting his lips. A light sheen of sweat dotting his forehead and curling his hair, hooded blue eyes drawing Erik to him. He’s taking one step towards Charles before he stops himself.

He can’t do this. Not if Charles is under the influence.

Oh God, but he wants too. Charles is literally begging for Erik to join him.

Taking a step back Erik leans against the wall. If he can’t let himself join Charles on that bed then he sure as hell is going to watch. Erik does not have that higher moral ground he’s heard about. Besides, he isn’t a fucking saint.

Charles looks forlorn, but doesn’t stop his strokes. Resigned to being watch he puts on a good show. Spreading his legs farther apart so he can get a good view of Erik, he speeds up. The muscles on his arms bulging with every caress, wrist twisting expertly on the up stroke. Sighing when he performs a particular move he likes.

Erik resolutely keeps his hands fisted at his side. Like some kind of test of his endurance, he’s not going to touch his own body until Charles is finished. The most he lets his body do is lick his lips, throat dry as the Sahara.

He wants to see Charles’ face when he comes.

“Your other hand,” Erik is startled to hear his own voice. “Touch yourself with it.”

Charles doesn’t hesitate to comply. His hand not currently in his pants, slowly slides down his chest, rubbing lightly at the nipples under his grey shirt before heading down to join the other one furiously moving against his cock.

“Fondle your balls with it. Feel the weight of them and imagine my hands on you. Fuck, Charles I want to touch you.”

Bucking wildly, Erik can see the movement in the clothes that tell him that Charles is following his every instruction. Erik himself is so hard he could probably drill steal with his dick right now, no powers involved.

“Go lower,” Erik rasps. “The area behind your balls, that patch of skin that so sensitive- rub it.” Charles hisses, back curving up.

“Even farther down,” Erik sighs. “That wrinkle of skin around your anus is. Press against it, but not too hard. You don’t want to hurt yourself. Just enough you can feel the pressure. Next time we’ll get lube and you can fuck yourself on your fingers as I watch.”

Charles cries out, body seizing as he comes violently and he stains the front of his pants. Erik watches as his face screws up in surprise and wonder, red mouth opening wide as he gasps for air. Chest heaving as he pants for breath. It is possibly the most beautiful thing Erik has ever seen before.

Then Charles pulls his hands out of his pants and gives his palm a little lick with his pink tongue. Drowsy blue eyes staring straight at Erik as he tastes himself from his own hand.

Erik is back in the bathroom, fisting himself faster than you sound say ‘that man is evil’. It doesn’t take but a couple of strokes before he’s coming. A small groan of Charles’ name leaving his lips as he pulses into his hands.

He’s going to fuck Charles, if it’s the last thing he does. And the way things are going, it just might be.

Charles is passed out snoring on his stomach, naked from the waist down, when Erik gets out.

Erik really wants to flip the bed over with him still on it. How is that even fair that Charles can sleep after torturing Erik so?

Glaring at the sleeping figure, Erik feels charitable enough to pull the covers up over him so he doesn’t freeze his ass off (even though he’d richly deserve it). Charles purrs deeply into the pillows, tail wiggling into a curly-cue around his leg.

It takes every fiber in him not to spank Charles in revenge. That naked ass would merit it. His black heart could just imagine Charles’ sore face when he tried to sit down and cackled with glee. But no. If Charles was going to have problems sitting down, it would be for a totally different reason then a spanking.

So Erik will let Charles sleep off the catnip in peace.

And if he still feels like being an insufferable tease later…well, Erik will deal with it.

Smirking, Erik dresses for the day. Emma and he have plans to research the facility files more in depth since Hank was able to access those computers the scientist tried to destroy.

Stepping into the hallway, Erik is confronted by an angry Azazel, who is covered in pollen and weeds.

“What happened to you?” Erik asks bewildered.

Azazel crosses his arms and glares. “Your kitty-cat. Threw flowers out window where I was standing.”

Erik can’t help himself, he starts laughing. He’s practically rolling on the floor in hysterical tears by the time Emma comes down the hall to collect him.

***

“You are a sap.” Emma replies, leaning over the lab desk to browse the files. “And he’s probably going to convince you to marry him and move to Montana to raise a litter of kittens together, and I’m never going to see you again.”

“What?” This is so out of the blue Erik can only blink up at her, trying to open file with the little mouse Hank had supplied them.

“Charles.”

And ‘oh God’, Erik thinks, ‘she’s touching me’. Emma is putting her beautifully manicured hands on Erik’s cotton covered shoulder. She usually breaks out in hives when she touches something that isn’t leather, chiffon, or silk.

“I just…” Emma breaks off, looking for the right way to continue. Erik is silently freaking out because Emma doesn’t hesitate to pull the punches. “I’m worried. I’ve never seen you this taken with someone before and I’m worried by how much control he has over you.”

“This is Charles were talking about here.” Erik sighs in relief. “He’s just as devoted to this family as he is to me. If he wanted to move away I doubt it would be without a house full of tag along mutants moving in with us, and it certainly wouldn’t be to Montana of all places.”

Emma searches his face for the truth, and Erik allows her access to him mind enough to let her see how much be believes what he says. Charles loves them all, with no exception (except maybe Victor), and if Charles wanted to be alone he’d probably only last a weekend before he drove himself crazy wondering what fun everyone else was having without him.

“Good. Anyone who’s crazy enough to fall for you has to understand you’re a package deal.” Emma nods and Erik feels hope suddenly bloom in his chest. Emma, his oldest friend approves of Charles. He’s going to have to talk Charles into wearing one of his crazy anti-vogue outfits again, if only to get Frost to return to her icy-disdain self again. He thinks he owes it to her after making her all soft with concern.

“You do.” She smirks down at him, pulling her hand away to wipe it on her skirt. Erik is kind enough to pass her the bottle of disinfectant.

***

Charles is moaning and holding his head when Erik passes him later in the hall, a trail of kittens following him like a party of ducklings.

Erik smirks and winks, “How you feeling.”

“Please, my friend, stop yelling.”

He laughs, pulling Charles to him so he can press a kiss to his forehead. “Did you learn a lesson from all this?”

Squinting at him, Charles hugs Erik to him. “Never trust an old bag of catnip and really Erik, you should join me next time. Who ever thought you’d be the shy one?”

Erik blushes, trying to avoid looking into the three pairs of innocent eyes staring up at them. “Well, I didn’t want to take advantage, but next time be assured I won’t think twice.”

Charles purrs, the smile he gives Erik is practically lascivious. “Please don’t.” He looks down at the three kittens behind him. “But not right now. We’re on our way to the library to learn about the Louisiana Purchase. Want to come with us?”

“No. I’m still working with Emma and Hank right now, I’ve been sent to get some refreshments and a snack.”

“Poor you, a servant to others whims.” Charles runs a hand down Erik’s chest and settles it at his belt.

Petting at the brown fur covering the cat ears, Erik feels something like peace. He had been worried Charles would be awkward around him for a few days, so he’s pleasantly surprised by his attitude. “Only yours naturally, I’m just being nice to Emma to avoid the fall out if she finds out about what happened to her mink fur coat.”

“Oh.” Charles goes wide eyed at the mention of the coat now sporting a bunch of crumbs and sticky pollen. For some reason, catnip high Charles had thought it would be a good offering to the slumbering Erik. “Right then, carry on, must not keep them waiting.” 

***

Like all things in Erik’s life, once things start looking up for him there's a sudden shift and things take a turn for the worst. From the files they find another facility holding B class mutants and Erik is working on that and leaving the house often enough he barely has time to fall into bed at night. So any plans to ‘de-flower’ Charles is put on hold.

Figures.

Charles is busy with the kittens anyways, so they are mutually pretty much exhausted by the end of the day. Both men are frequently waking up surprised to find the other still curled around the other in the morning. It’s always a pleasant reminder to Erik that there is someone waiting for him at home.

Raven gets sick a few days before Erik and the team go to Washington on a raid, so Charles takes it upon himself to take care of her and every other night is found slumped over the couch in her room. Raven is grouchy about being left behind and angry at everyone around her. Charles is a saint for putting up with her.

Then the night before they leave Erik is just getting in bed when he hears Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ booming from outside. Stumbling to the window, he looks out and sees Charles standing out on the lawn with a boom box over his head, looking towards a hedge and trying to shrug his shoulders.

Erik can see a brunette and blond head crouching in the shrubs by Charles’ feet.

Snorting, Erik opens the window and looks down. Settling on the ledge and trying not to laugh at Charles’ effort.

“What are you doing?”

Turning the volume down, Charles relies, “Are you not finding this romantic?”

There’s a hissed, “Wrong track!” from the bushes.

“I don’t know if romantic would be the right word for it, but I’m sure finding it something.” Erik is smiling so hard it hurts. “I think the song is terribly appropriate.”

“Oh good,” Charles doesn’t catch the sarcasm. “I was worried. I’m not very in-the-know of current tunes and it has been suggested to me that me that Bee Gee’s ‘Staying Alive’ isn’t suitable right before a fight.”

Erik laughs and motions for Charles to come inside and up to bed.

Charles stumbles in, still carrying the 80’s style boom-box. Celine Dion’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’ barely whispering out the speakers.

“I can’t make it stop.” Charles whines.

 Erik doesn’t blame him, whatever he listening to has to be from Angel, she’s the only person he knows with such horrible taste in music. Using his powers he’s able to turn the player off from where he’s lying in bed, smirking at Charles’ relieved sigh once the music disappears.

“Thank you, love.” Charles automatically starts shrugging out of his clothes, pulling his argyle sweater off and fluffing his hair and fur up in the process. Erik is so distracted by the light affection he feels for Charles he almost doesn’t notice when a boxer clad Charles crawls up the bed a second later.

“Hi.” Erik sighs, hands settling on Charles’ thigh once he gets established on Erik’s lap.

“Hi.” Charles blushes lightly.

“So, what brings a hip cat like you to a place like this?” Erik teases.

Charles sways slightly. “Oh you know, I’ve heard good things about it.”

“Oh really? What kind of things?”

Leaning forward, they’re both breathing the others air. “That the owner of this bed has a lot of …stamina, and that a cat can expect a thorough petting here.”

Chuckling, Erik replies, “Well I can assure you that rumor is true. Would you like a demonstration?”

Charles purr deepens. “Oh would I.”

“Okay, go get me your cat-brushes.” Erik swats at Charles ass, laughing at the face he gets in return. For once Erik isn’t tired enough to fall over the second he hits the sheets and he has a feeling part of that has to do with Charles. The silly thing was reenacting ‘Say Anything’ and next thing he knows Charles is going to climb onto a table with a birthday cake for him. Though Erik refuses to give his underwear away to anyone but Charles. He does not live in a John Hughes movie.

“Eri-k.” Charles wiggles closer. “I’m trying to seduce you here. Be serious.”

He’s still giggling, so Erik tries to hide his smile behind his fist so Charles will stop pouting. “Charles, darling, the best seductions are never serious.” Charles perks his ears towards Erik and listens intently. “Sex is messy and fun and somewhat crazy, or the best kind is.”

Charles hums, thinking about it. “I see. So I shouldn’t worry about being perfect?”

“No.”

“Oh, what a relief.” And Charles is surging forward, knocking their lips together and yanking Erik forward by his hair. He groans into the warm mouth, wet and sloppy and entirely perfect. Moving his hands to cradle Charles’ rump and pull him closer so he can feel smooth skin against his rougher hands.

Erik is sure he can never get enough of Charles. Everything about him is new and refreshing; he’s so likable without being annoying, honest but not blunt, sweet without being saccharine, handsome but not overly so where Erik won’t have to worry about killing everyone just for looking at his cat. 

If ever there was a person made more true to be his other half it would be Charles. He’d take any hardship or overcome any obstacle to keep him by his side.

“Stop thinking so much,” Charles bites at Erik’s neck, drawing blood with his sharp canines. “I must be doing something wrong if you still have a thought in that big brain of yours.”

See, Charles had his priorities right. Obviously perfect.

Growling, Erik pulled Charles closer to him. Running his hands down the smooth pale skin of Charles’ ribs and back, scratching at the base of the furry tail.

“Ah!” Charles cried out. Hips moving to follow the motion of Erik’s hand. “Oh, please! Again.”

Smirking into the dip where shoulder met neck, Erik repeated the motion. Charles’ body going with the movement, clinging tightly to Erik’s shoulders while his hips rolled up into the air. How very cat-like of him.

Erik wondered if he could get him to yowl loud enough to wake the household.

“Oh! Oh!” Charles is moaning. Face flush and sweating like he’s about to come just from the scratching of his tail alone. Erik is majorly turned on by this show of weakness. He hadn’t known this was such an Achilles’ heel for a cat, otherwise he would have used it earlier. Who knew?

Erik: professional cat masseuse.

He could probably have a lucrative job of it. If Charles was willing to share, which he doubted. The man had a thing for his hands and was oddly possessive about them. Erik totally didn’t mind.

Charles was biting his lips, trying not to cry out. Head thrown back as he hummed and swayed with the motion of the petting, little squeaks making it out of his pink lips after every aggressive graze against the base of his tail.

“Come on baby, say something.” Erik whispered.

“Erik.” Charles groaned. “Enough, it’s too much.”

Erik ignored him, pressing down hard on the bundle of nerves there with his thumb. Charles bucked wildly before savagely trying to take a chunk out of his arm.

“You bit me!” Erik startled back, hitting his head on the headboard and pulling his hands back. That was not a sexy bite, that was a fucking ‘I’m going to give you rabies’ bite. What the hell?

Charles licked the blood from his teeth, looking angry and pleased with himself at the same time, glaring down at Erik from where he sat. “I told you.”  Glancing towards the wound, he actually looked sorry for what he did. “Do you need a band aid?”

“I need freakin’ medical gauze Charles.” Erik said angrily. Why was it that every time things started to heat up, some crazy shit would happen and ruin the mood.

You know what? Fuck that.

Erik was going to ignore this and get things back to rollin’. He would bleed to death, but not before getting off. Charles owed it to him.

“Just…come here.” Erik grouched, pulling Charles back into a kiss. Charles chirped, pleasantly surprised by the change in attitude, he wiggled closer again. Erik could taste his own blood in Charles’ mouth, the warm copper taste along with the flat flavor of Charles’ own spit. He didn’t care, or he tried not to, until he couldn’t resist biting down on Charles’ tongue once he got the chance.

“Mhm!” Charles pulled back, hands over his mouth. “You bit me!”

Erik grinned. “Paybacks a bitch, isn’t it.”

 Charles eyes narrowed. “Really Erik, you want to go down that road.”

“Fuck yeah.”

The smaller man glared at Erik. Both sat there quietly contemplating the next move.

Charles moved first, with speeds never before reached, he darted forward and bit at Erik’s nipple.

“Jesus Christ!”

“Ha!” Charles said against Erik’s chest. Licking at the bruised skin there and lightly blowing on it when he pulled away. He fluttered his eyelashes at Erik, looking up at him with his ethereal blue eyes. God, Erik would become a chew toy if Charles kept looking at him like that.

So Erik gave up rather fast after that. Surrendering to Charles, who purred and preened about it while Erik flopped back against the bed in defeat. Charles lay on top of him, unashamedly getting comfortable against Erik’s hard prick.

“Oh Erik,” Charles sighed happily. “Here are the rules, you’re going to lay there and take whatever I give you.” 

Oh sweet Jesus, thank God. Erik happily looked up at the ceiling and thanked the big man for finally taking pity on Erik’s blue balls. Someone was at last looking out for him.

“Stop winking at the ceiling fan and pay attention to me.” When Charles said ‘me’ he emphasized it by biting at Erik’s other nipple. Yelping, Erik hunch forward some and almost knocked Charles off him. Charles steadied himself by wrapping his tail around Erik’s ankle. 

The fur kind of tickled against Erik’s foot.

“Make me.” Erik jeered.

With a wicked smile Charles said, “With pleasure.” Then reaching down and pulling Erik’s cock out of his pants. 

Erik gulped loudly.

He hadn’t expected Charles to just whip it out like that. That was delicate equipment he was handling there, and they had just established Charles had a biting fetish. Seriously, Erik was kind of concerned here.

Charles licked from one nipple down his abs, swirling his tongue around Erik’s belly button while one hand squeezed gently around his cock. Erik shivered as the cool air caressed the wet trail left by Charles.

Or not. Erik was totally cool with where this was going.

Erik spread his legs so Charles could get comfortable between them. He settled in and patted Erik’s flank in thanks. Eyes flashing with pleasure he rewarded Erik by nipping lightly at the skin of his hip, laving at the dent between bone and boner. Erik’s cock bumping against the underside of Charles’ chin, where the rumble from his purr made his cock twitched violently.

Erik suddenly had a great vision of where this was going: Valhalla. (Not the actual place, because Erik really didn’t want to be thinking of that weirdo Thor at a time like this.)

Trying hard not to just grab Charles’ hair and guide him to where he needed to be, he fisted the sheets instead. Patiently dying as Charles teased him, licking and slurping at every patch of skin but the one place Erik was groaning for him to taste. He was evil. Evil. Evil. Evil.

“C-Charles.” Erik whimpered.

With one last lick to the inside of Erik’s thigh, Charles glanced up at him. “Yes dear?”

“Get on with it.” He growled, rutting up into Charles body.

Charles laughed, cool air blowing against Erik’s raging erection. “Erik, I really don’t want to get into a conversation about ordering ones cat around, mostly because I really don’t think you’d listen to me right now.”

“I’m going to kill you, you fucking tease.” Erik seethed, reaching down to finish himself off if Charles was going to be like that. Charles batted his hands away, cat ears going back as he growled at Erik.

“No. This is mine now.” He possessively took hold of Erik’s dick.

Erik swore he could have it if he just did something about it. 

As if sensing Erik’s struggle, Charles crouched over him, looking slightly nervous but determined. Eyes focused with great longing on the cock before him. He leaned over, cheeks hesitantly nestling against the spongy skin of Erik’s manhood before giving it a tentative lick. Tasting the pre-cum leaking from the tip with a smacking of his lips, he seemed startles by the flavor, surprised by how much he liked it.

“Oh Erik,” Charles breathed. “You taste marvelous.” Erik picked his jaw off the floor. Staring down at Charles and trying to stop his heart from beating out of his chest.

Charles licked his lips. Smiling happily up at Erik and leaning forward to press his lips against the cock bobbing in front of him. Mouthing up and down it until it glistened with spit and had Erik curling his toes in bliss. He experimented with licks and sucking at the texture, the veiny underside of Erik’s cock. A trill of pleasure came from the back of his throat as he popped his lips around the head.

Erik choked on his own spit, throwing his head back as Charles worked him over.

Charles sucked him down as best as he could. Almost gagging when he tried to take too much at once.

“Easy,” Erik whimpered, leaning forward to run a hand through Charles hair.

Charles blinked up at him, red mouth stretched wide around the girth of Erik’s cock. Their eyes met and held, even when Charles did something marvelous with his tongue.

Erik bucked and cried out, back curving as Charles almost swallowed him whole. The hand still in Charles’ hair pulled tight, getting a growl from Charles. His breath stolen from his lungs, Erik felt almost like he was being stabbed.

Charles pulled off until only the head was still in his mouth, hand coming up to cradle the shaft and lightly fondle Erik’s balls. He seemed particularly interested in the shape and texture of the skin there, tonguing at every dip and curve until Erik was a withering mess. Popping off he licked from root to tip, kissing the slit there and swallowing him down once again. Hand going around the rest he couldn’t take down just yet.

Erik came so fast, he barely was able to shout out a warning. His orgasm was so surprising, Erik almost blacked out. Every muscle in his body seized, his voice cracking until he bit down violently on his own tongue.  His vision whites out, when he opened his eyes there were green and purple dots dancing about the room. He melted into a puddle of goo on the sheets. The warm feeling of release and Charles’ body heat above him cradling him into a blissful layer of satisfaction.

Charles swallowed everything Erik gave him, sucking and pumping at Erik’s slowly softening cock. Milking him for all he’s worth (and Erik will never be able to say the word milk without getting a hard on from now on). Only pulling off once every bit of semen was sucked away, and Erik’s withered cock twitched at every sensitive pull.

Licking his lips, Charles looked like a cat that got the bowl of cream.

“Why thank you Erik.” Charles purred.

“Guh.” Erik boggled at him.

Biting his lips, Charles slides his body against Erik’s until they are face to face. His own hard on pressing against Erik’s hip. Rutting his pelvis against the slick skin there. 

“Oh,” Erik sighs, hands going to Charles’ rump, wiggling his fingers under the underwear.

Charles looks distressingly turned on. Like if Erik didn’t touch him he might expire from want. Working up the rest of his energy that hasn’t been sucked out of his cock, Erik goes about getting Charles off in return. Slipping the boxers off easily, and finally, they are full skin on skin. Charles penis leaving a trail of pre-cum against his hips and thigh.

Erik purrs this time. Charles chirps happily and nibbles at Erik’s collarbone.

Sliding on hand around Charles’ cock, he pumps. Charles whimpers and humps into his hand. Clawing at Erik’s arms and chest, leaving red welts in their wake. Erik grunts, thinking quickly, he sucks at his own fingers, getting them thoroughly wet and slick before returning the hand to Charles’ rump. Wet fingers leaving a trail down the crack of Charles’ ass before pausing at his hole.

“Oh,” Charles purrs, moving back into the larger tan hand. “Please.”

Still pumping Charles’ cock, he presses against the ring of muscles. Charles shivers, tail wrapping tightly around Erik’s wrist. Hitching Charles closer, Erik wiggles a finger into Charles. The warm heat of him delicious against his finger. He hums, pressing his check against Charles’ as he presses the digit deeper.

Charles whimpers, hips speeding up as he thrust forward into the ring of Erik’s fist then back into the finger penetrating his anus. Then Erik adds another finger inside him, the stretch almost painful to Charles’ virgin passage. Crooking his fingers, Erik finds Charles prostate with lightning precision.

“O-oh! Erik!” Charles cries out, gasping then biting at Erik’s neck. He’s coming a second later, a warm sticky mess on Erik’s stomach. He trembles, nuzzling closer to Erik like he’s seeking protection from his own orgasm. Frightened by the feelings coursing through his veins.

“Shh…” Erik whispers in a furry cat ear. Pulling Charles chin up so he can kiss him. Charles’ eyes are closed and brows furrowed, a small trail of tears at the corners of his lashes. “What’s wrong buddy?”

“Erik. Meow.” Charles whimpers.

Rolling them over so their laying side by side, Erik comforts Charles. Unsure why he is so upset, he pets the cat-man until Charles quiets. “You okay?” He asks.

Charles sniffles. “It was so intense.”

“Yeah, that happens sometimes.”

“Always?”

“I don’t know.” Erik sighs, tucking Charles under his chin and pulling the covers up over them. He knows that they both are still messy but doesn’t care. He refuses to move from Charles’ embrace. Also, he’s almost 100% certain that his body wouldn’t hold him up, his legs feel like jelly and his arms feel like lead weights.

And Charles is already snoring softly against his chest.

***

Erik woke to Charles’ tail trying to go up his nose. Snorting, he pushed it out of the way and rolled over.

Charles was curled up around the pillows and Erik’s head, shivering lightly from the cold.

It was early, not even dawn yet. Feeling mellow and relaxed from last night, he really didn’t want to wake Charles up before he left. The guy looked like he needed to sleep and after his performance last night, he deserved a bit of a lie-in. And if all went well, they’d be back before he even woke up. Pressing a kiss to Charles’ forehead, he moved him under the covers where he had previously been sleeping, hoping the body heat left over would warm him some.

Charles murmured, ears twitching as he snuggled into Erik’s pillow. Still, he stayed asleep.

He’d see him when he got back. For now, he’d memorize this picture for the rest of his life.

Dressing quietly in his Magneto costume, he picked up his helmet and heading downstairs where the others were waiting. Emma was in the foyer, adjusting her breast, making sure that they were perky enough inside her white leather dress. She looked at him all nonchalant as he came down the stairs, totally unconcerned that she had just flashed him.

“Nice night.”

“Delightful.” He replied.

“Yes, that was a statement dear, not a question.” She sniffed. “I think we all heard enough to know you had a ‘delightful’ night, last night.” Trouble with having a telepath in the house, he figured. Not much got past her.

Erik tried to fight the blush, but really it was rather useless.

“Please Frost, your almost green with jealousy. It clashes with the outfit.”

“Bitch.” She glared.

Erik’s reply was cut off by Alex and Darwin bursting through the doors, panting and excited to leave.

“Oh good, you’re ready. We were about to draw straws to see who’d be unlucky enough to have to wake you up.” Alex blurted. Darwin elbowed him and shook his head rapidly, leaning towards Alex to whisper, “He’s in a good mood, man. Don’t make it worse.”

Clapping his hands together, Erik ignored them. “Right. Is everybody ready?”

***

The Brotherhood was successful. Once again.

Elation and triumph coursed through them. They’d taken down another one of those horrible government mutant holding facilities, saved some mutants, and no one on their side even got a scratch. Oh, delete that, Beast got a little cut up from some flying glass but Erik didn’t really care. He was still mad at the scientist for what he did to Charles. Let it never be said that Magneto didn’t hold a grudge. Not that anyone would. It was common knowledge Erik was a dick.

“That was great.” Angel smiled, everyone dropping hands once Azazel had teleported them into the front lawn of the mansion. Emma huffed, her little white cape had gotten singed.

“Hey, what’s that?” Sean pointed at the door. It was busted on one side, barely hanging on the hinges and swaying in the air.

“Oh God.” Janos gasped, staring at the drops of blood trailing inside.

Erik was pretty sure his heart stopped beating completely.

Raven. The kittens.

Charles.

“Emma, see if whatever or whoever is still here. We need to know if we’re still in any danger.” Erik barked, the ability to command coming to him easily. Some days he felt like he’d been born to lead a war.

Right now they needed to minimize the danger, and then search for survivors. Whatever had done that could still be here. Erik could count on Raven, even in her sick state, to be able to protect the kittens and Charles. He had too. The other option didn’t bear thinking about.

“Sean, Angel -get an aerial view. Alex, Janos- you comb the grounds. Darwin, you and Azazel are with me-we’re going inside.” Erik addressed the team. “Hank, stay with Emma.”

Like a well oiled machine, everyone was off. Performing their duties like the good little soldiers they were. Everyone looked angry that someone had dared to violate their home while they were away.

The entrance was a mess. Broken furniture and shredded curtains, like a miniature tornado had come through here.

“Emma says she can’t feel anyone on the grounds, alive at least.” Darwin remarked, wincing at the wording Emma had passed on to him. He kicked at a chair leg lying on the floor.

God, where would Raven have taken others?

The trail of blood led upstairs. Every step he took echoed in his chest, the dread that whosever blood that was belonged to someone he cared for. Who would do this?

Erik choked. Who wouldn’t do this? The Brotherhood had so many enemies; any one of them would take the chance to attack. What motive did they have for doing this? Were they expecting everyone to be here, or were they specifically targeting the ones left behind? The endless questions just ran through his mind, blocking the trepidation that whatever they found upstairs might not be something he wanted to see.

Darwin looked confused. “Who’s Victor? Beast says he smells his scent around the door.”

Fury. Rage. Erik felt the metal around him bend, twisting into deformed blobs as the house groaned under his power.

One of their own had done this. Someone Erik had voluntarily let into their house. A guest into his home, introduced to his family. This was a abuse that Erik couldn’t condone.

He would kill Victor Creed if he did anything to Charles and the others. He would lament the day he heard the name Magneto.

“-ik. Erik!” Azazel hit his shoulder, jostling the helmet and bringing Erik out of his murderous thoughts. “Stop. Settle down.”

“He’s one of us.” Erik gasped. Azazel met his eyes, looked him right in the face and nodded, he understood what Erik was saying.

“I know. He’s not here though. Gone, injured. The blood is his.”

Erik calmed down. Looking relieved, Azazel made sure Erik sat down on the stairs, central enough he could watch as Azazel popped from room to room. Darwin walking down the halls and double checking each room for any signs of life. With a great sigh, Erik removed the helmet.

‘Place is clear. No one’s here. Alex reports the backdoor is broken and one of the cars is missing. There’s also a trail leading into the woods behind the mansion.’ Emma’s voice reverberated in his head. ‘Beast says once you’re ready he can try to sniff around, catch someone’s trail.’

He nodded, even though Emma couldn’t see. ‘Let him in. Tell him to follow Raven first.’

There was a buzzing in his ears, like a hive of bees had taken up residence behind him. He felt weak with exhaustion, emotionally and physically.

“Hey,” Darwin sat down beside him. He was startled to see that everyone else was already inside, picking up furniture and checking to see what was missing. “Everything will be fine, you’ll see.”

Erik stared at him blankly.

“Erik.” Emma’s voice was sharp, breaking through the commotion that had taken up residence in his head. “There’s something you need to see.”

He was up and standing next to her in a flash, both of them staring out the back window towards the dark clouds hovering over a certain spot about two miles away.

Lightning flashed, particularly close to a large satellite Erik liked to play with when he wanted a challenge.

***

Erik wasn’t sure how long it took, but it felt like hours before they were standing at the base of the satellite. He wasn’t even sure how he got there.

“You think someone’s up there?” Sean asked hesitantly. Lightning flash, the booming roar of thunder, all centered right over this exact spot. As dark as the swirling clouds were, it was odd that it wasn’t raining.

Emma had stayed behind, hoping to expand her power with Hanks help to find anyone heading back. With the danger passed there was an anticipation someone would come home. Erik trusted her to be able to reach him if something did happen.

“Yes. Ororo can control the weather, there’s a good possibility that she’s here.”

“Where exactly?” Sean gulped, staring up at the large metal dish.

Erik just looked up. Darwin and Alex followed his gaze, squinting up at the tiny ledge at the very top. Erik desperately wished he had brought Azazel along, but he was combing the town. Even Janos would be good to have around right about now. Why hadn’t he thought of any of this before he left?

“That’s really high.” Alex said. “Can Sean fly up there without getting hit by lightning?” He had followed Erik in the hope that his younger brother would be with whoever was up there. And Erik was distantly proud of him for not being in hysterics.

But he hadn’t thought of that. Erik was just desperate to get to the top he hadn’t even contemplated the dangers involved. He cursed, pulling his cape off and handing it and his helmet to Darwin.

“I’ll do it.”

“B-but Metal!” Sean motioned to him, then the sky. “Benjamin Franklin!”

Whatever that meant. Erik could care less. The lightning didn’t seem to be hitting the satellite dish, so as long as that kept up he should be okay. 

“Stay here. If the storm doesn’t let up in an hour, call Emma and have her send Janos over, then Sean you get your ass in the air and see if they’re up there.” Without a backward glance, he was inside the building at the base, sending out tendrils of power to shape out the skeleton of the satellite. Taking an elevator as high as he could until he couldn’t go farther. On the roof there was a ladder, going the rest of the way up.

There was a puddle of blood at his feet.

He wasn’t scared of heights. He wasn’t scared of being fried to death. He wasn’t even scared of falling to his bloody death.

He was scared of not finding anybody up there. Alive.

It would be a long climb, but he’d die if he didn’t do it. Counting each rail as he did, he scaled the complex, completely focused on the task and not the scenarios his imagination was creating.

Panting, his muscles screaming at him with every movement, he was maybe about 10 meters away when the ladder just stopped. Metal singed off by something sharp and hot, whoever was up there didn’t want anyone following.

Fuck. Erik wrapped his arms around the pole, searching for another way up. Wind howled, bashing him against the metal bars.

Nothing.

Cursing in German, he knew what he had to do. It was a big risk and he’d only performed it a couple of times, but it was the only way up the rest of the way. Reaching a hand out, he pushed against the metal and then pulled at it. A combination of finding the between, the perfect middle ground to control without damaging the metal around him.

Stabilized, he let go of the ladder. Floating seamlessly up the rest of the way, he didn’t break concentration once. He imaged himself as one of Charles’ jingle balls, gliding effortlessly through the air.

His feet landed on the platform.

Ororo gasped. Wide, terror filled eyes looked up at him from where she was cuddled next two huddled forms.

Almost instantly the wind let up, a crack of sunlight burst through the clouds. Illuminated, he got his first good look at who was up here with the little storm girl.

Limp cat ears didn’t even twitch when he set his hand on the curly, brown hair.

“He’s scared.” Ororo whispered, pulling Erik by his hand over to the huddled figures.

“Charles,” Erik said, crouching beside him.

“No, Scott’s scared. He’s keeping him calm.” Ororo pushed against Erik’s back. She seemed unconcerned by how high up they were by her liberated movements, making Erik stumble when he took a glance down the railing.

Charles twitched.

There was movement under the large grey t-shirt (another of Erik’s). Charles’ face was hidden, looking down the neck of his shirt to the breathing mass there. It seemed Scott was hidden up under the shirt next to Charles. Both bodies cuddled together and hidden from view.

“Hey, hey. Charles…”

With Ororo hanging off one arm, Erik scoots as close to Charles and Scott as he could. Watching the odd movement under the clothes, it looked like Charles’ arm was petting Scott’s back. They were freezing, had to be compared to Erik and Ororo, and their huddled forms were shaking almost violently.

“Erik…” Blue eyes hesitantly meet Erik’s. He can feel the small kitten between them. Scott whimpers, and Charles pulls him deeper into his embrace and Erik cautiously puts a hand on what he believes is the back of Scott’s head.

He drops his forehead to Charles, breathing deeply. “You’re okay?”

Like a dam breaking, Charles starts crying, silent tears falling down his cheeks. “Meow. Erik. It was horrible. That man came for the kittens. And Raven got hurt, and he tried to take Jean. We couldn’t get them away fast enough. Meow. Got high, got far. Was followed.”

“Shh…” Erik kissed at the tears. “Is anybody hurt? That’s what I want to know.”

“No.” Charles shakes his head. “Got scratched up some, and Scott is really scared.”

“Okay. Good. Where’s Raven and Jean?”

“The car. We had to trick him, make him think I had Jean while she got away, went into town.” Charles sniffed, and not caring how disgusting it was Erik used the maroon sleeve of his own shirt to wipe the snot away. Charles just blinked at him with moisture clumped eyelashes.

“Okay. Fine. Where’s Victor now? Do you know?”

Nodding with his head, Charles pointed towards the ladder.

“He fell!” Ororo supplied, yelling in Erik’s ear. “We climbed up and Mr. Charles had Scott use his power to cut the ladder. The bad man fell down and went ‘splat’!” She made a motion with her hand to illustrate. “But he got up again and ran away.”

“Oh,” Erik was frankly amazed. He hadn’t known the children knew how to use their powers so well without letting them getting so out of control. Especially since Scott was so scared of heights, and somehow able to look over the ledge enough to cut the ladder so precisely. “I’m proud of you all. You were very brave.” He smiled at Ororo, patting at the lump of shirt that was Scott.

Ororo blushed, nibbling at her finger nail as she stared right back into Erik’s eyes. Suddenly the sky was clear and bright blue.

“Everything okay up here?” Darwin asked, feet landing gently on the ledge behind him as Sean flew by. Ororo gave a cheer, excited to see someone else.

“Get Ororo down, I’m going to stay up here with Scott and Charles.”

Looking excited at the prospect, Ororo skipped to Darwin’s side. Asking him questions about how they were going to get down and if Darwin could fly also.

“Probably,” Darwin smiled down at her. “But not today. How do you feel about Sean taking us for a ride instead.”

She shrugged. “That’s okay I guess.”

Erik turned away, at least one child would have no problem getting off the satellite. While Charles didn’t look frightened, he was mostly concentrating on Scott and he probably wouldn’t leave without ensuring the kitten got down first. And it would be hard getting the kitten down, Erik’s mother had been scared of heights so he knew how those types of people could panic.

There was a ‘weee’ behind him, and he figured Ororo was heading down with Sean.

“I don’t want to tell you how to use your powers, but Alex really wants to make sure Scotts okay. He won’t get better staying up here and the best thing to do is get him on the ground.” Darwin said.

“Thanks, I got this.” Already he had ideas. If Charles and Scott refused to move then he could work around that. It was just a matter of moving the whole platform with them on it. There would be property damage, but really, all in a day’s work for the Brotherhood.

Waiting till Darwin and Sean were looping down together, he took stock of the platform. Charles looking from Scott to Erik with increasingly concerned expressions.

“Hold him tight. I’ll be as gentle as possible.” Erik said, the wind stealing his breath away once he stood up and was no longer protected by the dish.

“I have no doubt of that, Erik dear.” Charles smiled haggardly, body curling around Scott until it looked like the cat-man was pregnant.

He wasn’t sure what it was, either Charles’ faith in him or some deep well of power he hadn’t been sure of before, but detaching and moving the platform down was one of the easiest and smoothest uses of his ability ever. There was hardly a peep from the two, until they set down and Charles let out a loud sigh.

“You’re so amazing.” Charles uncurled, un-tucking the shirt from around Scott. Alex was on them a minute later, fluttering around like a mother hen and getting in everyone’s way.

“Is he okay? Scott, answer me bro!” Alex screeched. With a whisper and a nudge from Charles, Scott peeked out at them. His red sunglasses were crooked, but he looked unharmed.

“Alex? Erik?” His voice was raw. Erik had a feeling that Scott had been screaming a lot. Even in imminent danger, it probably took a lot out of the little guy to climb that far up the satellite.

Alex scooped Scott up, walking around the grass as Scott burst into tears at the presence of his brother. Murmuring quietly into each other’s ears until Scott was just sniffling into Alex’s neck.

“Erik,” Charles impacted with Erik’s chest, hugging him tightly around the ribs and knocking his breath away. “I’m so happy your back. I knew you’d find us, I had no doubt.”  He purred.

“I’ll always find you, no matter where.” Erik said, hugging just as tightly back.

***

“Charles, Scott, Ororo!” Raven yelled, running down the lawn towards them. She was back in her blue form, but since she was sick her cheeks were glowing orange. The others stayed grouped around the back porch, Angel checking Jean over for any injures. Charles let go of Erik’s waist to accept her hug.

“Raven, are you okay? Did he come after you?”

“No. The plan worked, we got into town and stayed hidden for a few hours. We just got back.”

Ororo ran out from behind Darwin, rushing to Jean. There was loud squealing and excited jumping as the little girls embraced. Janos took a heavy step back and cupped his ears.

“Erik, Sabertooth was after Jean. There’s an contract out for her.” Raven said to Erik, arms still around Charles as they hobbled to the house.

“Any idea why?” Erik asked.

“I couldn’t exactly sit him down for tea and ask him. And Charles was throwing chairs and darting ninja kicks at him to fast to even get them to settle down.” Raven threw Charles a quirky smile. “I didn’t even know you knew how to fight.”

“I know how to fight as a cat.” Charles shrugged.

“Hah, cat fight!” Sean giggled behind them.

Erik shot him a glare and the laughing cut off abruptly. “As long as Victor was the only one injured I could care less how dirty you fight.” Erik wound his arm back around Charles’ hip, earning a surprised look from Raven.

“So everyone’s okay and that horrible man is gone?” Charles asked as their group joined the other. The older boys slapping each other on the back, and the children filling the adults in on their own opinion of what happened. Emma glanced Erik and Charles over before nodding in satisfaction.

“Yes. Everyone’s good.” Emma answered.

The mansion was a mad-house for the next few hours. Everyone running from room to room wailing about what was broken and what was missing. If Erik heard one more time that ‘My satin panties are missing! My IPod was stolen’ he was going to break something over someone’s head. (Beside which, he had a feeling that had more to do with Deadpool and less to do with Victor Creed. Wade had left with an extra bag that he hadn’t come in with. He’s just surprised it took everyone else this long to notice).

It also seemed Charles could get creative when defending his ‘babies’. By the scattered kitchen utensils and bits of foods, it appeared Charles had been startled while cooking breakfast.

Charles had unofficially adopted the kittens, if all the mothering he saw happening was true. He even accidently licked Jean’s hair when he tried to put it in a pony tail for her, much to her giggling surprise. Erik just pretended he didn’t see anything. That tongue was going into some strange places lately.

“Erik,” Scott shuffled over to him. He must have slipped his overbearing protector. Erik stopped, crouching down so they could look into each other face.

 “I want to thank you, for saving me- I mean us. Mr. Charles said you would and I didn’t believe him.” Scott looked at his shoes, face scrunched up in shame.

Ruffling his hair, Erik smiled. “It’s okay buddy. You just joined our household recently, so I won’t hold it against you. But always know, I protect everyone in my family if it’s the last thing I do, and your part of our family now.”

“Oh, okay.” He didn’t look too sure though so Erik pulled him closer by his elbows. “You most likely saved Charles and Ororo by cutting the ladder. That was extremely brave of you, and I could never thank you enough for protecting them.”

“I was scared though,” Scott sniffed.

“That’s okay. Sometimes being brave is being scared and being able to fight through that fear. I was really scared climbing that ladder but I didn’t let that stop me from getting to you.”

“Oh, you were?”

“Yeah. I was really worried for you all, and I couldn’t find that bad man who was chasing you.”

Scott surged into his arms, clinging to his neck. “Thank you. Mr. Charles says that if we stay by metal you’ll always find us.”

Surprised by the affection, Erik gently hugged back. “Yeah, I will. Here,” Erik pulled something out of his pockets, slipping the metal from his belt and shaping it into an object. “Keep this with you and I’ll know where you are all the time.”

He reshaped the buckle into a lightning bolt. “To remind you of today and how heroic you were.”

“Oh wow! Like Harry Potter’s lightning bolt!” Scott cradled it in his hands.

“Uh, sure?” Erik had no clue what the kid was talking about. “Have your brother string it and you can wear it as a necklace.”

“Not the girly kind.” Scott scowled at him.

“No, it’s a very manly necklace. I have one just like it.” Erik showed him the necklace he usually kept hidden under his clothes. His mother’s golden Star of David that she had given to him before she passed. He didn’t leave the house without it. Ever.

“Cool.” Scott traced the points of the star with his finger.

“Scott!” Alex careened around the corner, skidding into a large vase. “There you are!”

“Uh-oh. So much for that get-away” Scott sighed, stepping away from Erik. Standing up, Erik looked back down at him and ruffled his hair again, earning a puckered face that made him look so much like his brother.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll train you how hide so no one can find you.” Erik shrugged. “Except for me of course.”

Scott goggled at him, his jaw dropping in awe. “Really!? You will.”

Laughing, Erik nodded. Alex practically bowled them both over when he got to them, scooping up Scott like a baby and tutting over him. Scott just took the mothering with calm resignation. 

“You mister, need to stop running away.” Alex scolded.

“I didn’t run away, I just wanted to talk to Mr. Erik.”

“Well did you say what you wanted to say? Darwin’s making cupcakes and I told him you’d want to lick the bowl.” Alex barely even looked at Erik.

“Yeah, that would be cool. Bye Mr. Erik!” Scott waved at him over Alex’s shoulder as they headed back down the hall.

Erik stood there in the hall watching them. Oddly touched by what had just happened. The kittens usually didn’t interact with him all that much, so one seeking him out was bizarre. And really, he needed to stop thinking of them as ‘kittens’, Charles was a bad influence.

Speaking of the devil. Charles was watching him from the door to his room with heavy eyelids. Biting his lips and swinging his tail behind him.

“Erik, dear, that was strangely hot.” He purred.

“What?” Erik looked down at himself, trying to figure out what Charles was talking about.

“You. Being all…paternal.” Charles slinked towards him. “It’s sexy.”

“Oh really.” Erik growled right back. When Charles was close enough, he yanked him forward. Using the momentum, Charles pounced, wrapping his legs around Erik’s hips and clinging to his shoulders. They met in the middle for a quick kiss.

“Take me to your room, and put a litter in me.”

Erik burst out laughing. “God Charles, that sounds horrible.”

“How so?” Charles pouted at him.

Adjusting for the added weight, Erik waddled them towards his room. It had been relatively untouched by the attack, and besides the messy sheets and clothes littering the floor, looked perfectly normal.

“Men do not tell other men to put babies in them.” Erik tossed Charles on the bed.

“Why not?” Charles sounded actually perplexed by this.

And really, Erik did not want to get into that explanation. He was tired, still kinda angry, and so emotionally and physically drained he’d probably tell Charles anything just to get to take a nap. Which kind of ruined the mood that parts of his body were getting into.

“They just don’t. Now get undress, I want to check your wounds.”

Wiggling out of his clothes displayed a couple of large, hand-size bruises on Charles’ torso, some red welts on his arms, and a bloody knee from where he must have tripped. Not the worst damage one could get from a crazy, feral mutant, but all the same Erik wished it had never happened in the first place. Retrieving a first aid kid from the bathroom, Erik cleaned and bandaged the wounds. Earning little squeaks and yips from Charles when the alcohol pad swiped over the open skin.

“My tail too.” Charles muttered. Because of the dark brown fur Erik hadn’t noticed, but it was matted with blood near the tip. “He pulled it while we were climbing.”

Stifling down the fury, Erik tried desperately hard not to lose control of his power. Still, bits of metal hovered millimeters off the floor. He would hunt down Victor Creed later; right now he had to take care of his family. Give the man time to worry himself into a panic, he’ll be looking over his shoulder every second of the day until Erik put him out of his misery. No one attacks one of his own and lives to tell about it.

He had to trim some of the hair around the cuts, getting glowered at all the while. Trying not to smirk, Erik finished up by wrapping a bandage strip around the tail and tying a bow on the end.

“Oh, ha ha. You’re so cute Erik.” Charles took his tail back, petting it and smoothing the fur back down. But he left the bow.

Standing back up, Erik’s knees popped. He groaned, tossing the smaller man his t-shirt and watching as Charles put it on. Once Charles was all taken care of, he fell heavily into the cushioned bed and fluffy pillows face first. “I’m so tired.” He moaned.

Charles crawled onto his back, gently massaging his shoulders and neck. Erik groaned for a whole different reason then.

*** 

Erik woke from his nap drooling into his pillow at about 8pm. Charles was laying next to him, clicking away at the computer, his face illuminated by the blue light of the screen. The setting sun shining the last of its light through the window, a beautiful rosy red and mustard yellow.

“What are you doing?” Erik said, moving to look over Charles’ shoulder and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

Charles flushed but didn’t block his view. The screen was full of kitty pictures. Oh Lord, Charles was surfing those ‘lol cat’ blogs.

 Was that like watching cat porn to him? He wondered how Charles would watch those animal documentaries, what context he would view them in. He might try that later.

“Human’s are so weird.” Charles commented. “Body language is very important communication for a cat, and like here- see this cat is not asking for the cheeseburger, he probably just likes the sound of the wrapper.”

“They’re just comedy sites Charles. Nothing about them are fact, so you’re not supposed to take it seriously.”

“I know.” Charles huffed. “Though, I admit the video of the kitten and the apples was funny.”

Not knowing what he was talking about, Charles found a link to show it. It was pretty funny. It made him remember when Charles was just a fluffy little fur ball, wiggling and pouncing on anything that moved.

“I remember when you use to be scared of shoes.” Erik snickered, still lying in bed next to Charles.

“Ah! They were huge.” Charles’ ears stood strait up and his tail started swaying. “I got stuck in one once while you were away. It took me 2 hours to get out.”

“What? When?”

“Around my first day here, I went into your closet and your boots were right there and they were just goading me. I don’t know what I was thinking climbing into it, they were so large and dark.”

Erik laughed, ruffling Charles’ hair and scratching his ears. Charles purred and wiggled closer, closing the laptop and setting it on the bedside dresser. They cuddled together for a few minutes, Erik petting Charles.

“Erik, there’s something I want to give you.” Charles muttered, moving away from the warm pocket of blankets they had made and reached under the bed. Curious, Erik sat up so he could watch.

Pulling a jewelry box out from under the bed wasn’t what he was expecting though.

“Err…”

“I know it seems kind of silly.” Charles nervously messed with his hair. Looking down at the blue box in his lap with wide, unblinking eyes. “But it would mean a lot to me if you kept it. There’s a lot of sentimental value towards it and I feel there’s no better way than reminding you every day that I love you, than giving it to you.”

Opening the box, he brought out Charles’ old kitten collar. Navy blue, with a small silver jingle bell and silver nameplate. He had remembered buying it for Charles that first night she brought him home, Raven next to him in an old pet store, and Charles cradled to his chest. Raven kept trying to buy pink, sparkly collars but Erik had been firm that Charles was a boy, and boys do not get sparkles and girly colors. There had been a yelling match between them that sent Raven storming off to look at colorful toy mice instead, and Erik cooing to a baby Charles that girls were overrated.

“Where did you find this?” Erik had been sure he’d tossed it once Charles grew out of it.

Shaking his head, Charles replied. “I pulled it out of the trash. Hid it under the bed in my little nest there.”

“Why did you keep it?”

“It’s proof. That I’m yours and your mine. Verification that I belong to you from the very beginning.” Charles took the collar out of his hands and buckled it around Erik’s wrist. Erik stared down at it, moving his wrist gently as the bell chimed against the nameplate. He distantly thought that enemies would hear him coming, but be-damned if he ever took it off.

“Thank you Charles.” Leaning over, he kissed Charles on the cheek.

“I feel like I’ve just been proposed to.” Erik laughed, kissing Charles lightly on the lips.

Charles murmured, pulling Erik closer by the lapels of his shirt. Only then did Erik notice he was still in his Magneto outfit. The maroon cloth wrinkled. He would have to take it to their special drycleaner tomorrow morning.

“Well, I sort of did.” Charles told him seriously.

He’s almost sure he got whiplash from how fast he looked back at Charles. Blinking, Erik stared down into the cornflower blue eyes. “Seriously?” His voice cracked.

“I know it’s not like how humans do it. But it’s sort of the same, a collar instead of a ring.” Charles shrugged. “I promise to devote myself to you and you’re supposed to do the same.”

That’s not exactly how Erik remembers weddings are supposed to go, or a proposal. Aren’t there rings and candlelight dinner suppose to be involved? Then again, he’s pretty sure he never imagined he’d find himself in a relationship with his cat a couple of months ago. Much less a sexual one to boot. He’s positive his mother would’ve had something to say about this. She was probably in heaven right now scolding him for leaving a nice boy like Charles without a ring on his finger before he put his hands down the guy’s pants.

“Oh,” Heart trying to beat itself out of his chest, Erik felt his face flush. “You want to… marry? Me?” Just to be sure. Maybe Charles was talking to the bed. He’d marry the bed if he could find a rabbi to do it. It was a very lovely bed.

“Yes. I want us to be mates.” Charles eyebrows furrowed, finally he seemed to notice Erik had broken out into a violent sweat. “Unless…”

“Oh. No. I mean yes.” Erik swallowed the lump in his throat. “Are you absolutely sure?” He still sounded bizarrely bewildered they were having this conversation.

Charles fiddled with the bow on his tail. “It’s okay if you don’t want to. As long as you know I love you that’s all that really matters to me.”

‘Oh’ Erik thought again. Charles really did love him, wanted to be with him, forever it seemed. Erik had never had someone so determined to stay with him. And Charles was so wonderful, everyone loved him and it was so fantastic that he wanted Erik of all people.

Sure they’d only really ‘known’ each other for a few weeks. Kind of. Erik knew Charles all his life at least. It was sort of like growing up with someone. Who you couldn’t talk to. But as a human, it was so weird how one correlated their relationship with their pet into that. But then again, reality TV proved there were dumb people getting into marriage without really knowing each other all the time. At least Erik knew he REALLY liked Charles. Like a lot.

And the others would probably skin him alive if they found out Erik turned Charles down.

“Yeah, let’s do this your way.” Erik smiled. He couldn’t imagine himself with anyone other than Charles for the rest of his life. Strange, innocent Charles who demanded things from Erik no proper person would ask out loud. Who cuddled with him in bed and refused to get his own room, and cluttered Erik’s room with cat toys he pretended he still didn’t play with (even though he was a human now). Charles who called the children ‘kittens’ and wanted a litter of his own.

Erik would have to be a supreme idiot to turn him down.

Charles laughed in delight, throwing himself into Erik’s arms. Peppering kissing all over Erik’s face.

Brain stuttering to a halt, Erik pushed him back. “Wait, can you get pregnant?”

“Let’s find out.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Erik put his hands up in surrender. “Let’s not be too hasty.”

Charles had tore off his night clothes and was already working on Erik’s suit, but he was having trouble with the little metal buttons. “Why not. I’ve been patient this long. I was told we couldn’t have sex until marriage, and now that we’re engaged I don’t feel bad about breaking that rule.”

Fuck, Erik was going to kill someone. Whoever told Charles that horrible lie was going to get it.

Probably Emma. Or Raven. They were both bitches when it came to Erik’s love/sex life. And sex wasn’t limited to just penetration, Charles should know they’d already technically had oral sex. That had to count for something.

But back to the present. “No, I meant the pregnant thing.”

“Oh that.” Charles gave up on the buttons and just slashed through them with a claw. “I’m not sure. My organs are different, or so says McCoy. Maybe. Sure. Why not!” Ripping Erik’s shirt open with a somewhat overstated grand flare on that last note.

Why not indeed. Erik sputtered. “You want to be knocked up? Why don’t we just wait a little bit? Give it some time. Let us settle into our marriage. Actually, let’s get married first. I don’t want to have a shotgun marriage, my mother would be disappointed in me.”

Charles froze, hands clutching around Erik’s undershirt where he’d been pulling it out of his pants. “She would be? I’m so sorry Erik.” Charles looked regretfully down at his hands.

Shit. How did Erik do this to himself? It’s like some kind of horrible self sabotage disease. He’s about to get laid and he mention his disappointed mum. What a mood killer.

“No. It’s just, I always imagined kids after settling down. The two story cottage, the white picket fence, maybe a dog- or not, I can tell by your face we could do without the dog- and no other mutants around who might set our living room on fire and kill us all in a burning blaze of idiocy. Something stable to bring a kitten into.”

“As terribly romantic as that is Erik,” Charles soft smile made Erik’s heart skip a beat. “It’s not realistic. You would no sooner leave the others then I would. They are our family, and I want to raise our kittens among these people.”

“But there are people like Victor out there. The very idea that I’d put a kitten in a situation-” Erik cut off. It sounded so hypocritical of him. He was willing to put other people’s children (like Jean, Ororo, and Scott) into their household but not his own. It was peculiar noticing what a bastard he could be sometimes.

And he did love his little family he’d created among the Brotherhood. Emma, Raven, Sean, Darwin, just everyone. He would be so depressed if he had to leave them. Even Hank, who sometimes he wanted punch just on principal.

Charles settled on top of him. Now that he wasn’t frantically trying to rip Erik’s clothes off, Erik could appreciate the view. The dip of his back in particular, that tapered off into his furry tail.

“Okay point.” Erik conceded. “I’d still like to ask that we wait, at least on any attempts to procreate right this second. Sex is not out of the picture I promise!” He assured when Charles started to look exasperated. “We’ll just wrap it up for now. Use condoms.”

Charles ears flickered as he thought about it. Nibbling on his bottom lip as he tapped at his chin.

Erik held his breath.

“Fine.”

Sighing loudly, Erik had never been so relieved.

Charles sat up. “Put I did not come prepared for this ‘protective sex’. Unless you have condoms then I’m afraid we’re going to have to wait another night again.”

Oh did Erik have condoms.

God dammit he better have condoms! When was the last time he went shopping for supplies. He nearly knocked Charles off him when he surged towards the bedside dresser, tossing things aside as he dug through it.

In the deep crevice of his mind somewhere, there was a little voice yelling ‘Noooo…..’ like a desperate man falling off a cliff. Probably pushed off by a trusted friend who had gotten jealous over a job promotion in the accounting office, yearning for that cubical by the window instead of their own dark, clustered space. Life was cruel, especially for little shit like that.

And there were no fucking condoms anywhere in Erik’s room.

He hadn’t dated in so long they really weren’t a necessity on his shopping list. Lube- he had plenty of that, a plethora of flavors and ‘tingling sensations’ and one tiny bottle of pina colada shimmer glitter lube (He was drunk when he bought it- end story). Condoms though-zilch. How foolish he’d been. Making fun of Sean who stock piled condoms like he was going to the playboy mansion and he’d been designated orgy king for the weekend, but had never so much as gotten to first base with a girl in real life.

Curses! Erik suddenly hated his life. It was cruel, harrowing, and a dirty bastard.

There was noise at the door. Pulled from the hollowing ache in his mind and body, Erik turned to look.

Some kind, generous angel had slipped a packet of condoms under the door. Their shadowed feet seen walking calmly off down the hall.

Huh.

It had to be the goddamn condom fairy, who was real and had bestowed her mercy on Erik this once. Forever he shall prey to this kind, benevolent deity. All hallow be thy name and shit.

“What’s that?” Charles hopped off the bed in nothing but his underwear and crouched to inspect the little foil packets, poking them with a finger. There were about 9 of them, the glossy foil packets twinkling like stars in the night against his carpet.

Someone grossly overestimated Erik’s stamina. The mind was willing but the body was weak and nearing 40, he could only get up to so much in one night.

“Condoms, Charles.” Erik said with great benevolence. This was a moment to treasure. He was sort of breathless by the 180 he was going through. Overbearing despair to immense elation, it was sort of like the worst roller coaster ride ever.

“Oh neat.” Charles shrugged off their sudden appearance. He didn’t seem to care that someone in the house hold (a god/goddess among mortals) knew what they were getting up to. Picking the packets up, he set some of them on the dresser and brought two over to the bed with him.

Erik unexpectedly thought he was going to have to explain things again. Charles surprised him though by setting one on his pillow and holding the other out to Erik. “It’s squishy.”

Nodding, Erik took it. He pondered the thought about foreplay vs. getting strait to business. Just in case a meteor was going to hit the North Pole and kill everyone in 10 minutes. He could see it happening.

Charles hand moved up his thigh. Tail perked behind him in a ‘S’ shape as he watched Erik handle the foil packet. Curious as the cat he was.

Erik met Charles eyes over the condom. Two bright blue jewels set in the most beautiful and kind face in existence. It had to be some horrible injustice to the rest of the world that this man loved Erik. He was pretty sure he didn’t deserve him.

Setting the condom aside, Erik pulled Charles’ face forward by the back of his neck for a kiss. Warm, dry lips meeting his in a delicate congregation. Wispy brown curls tangling around his fingertips. Charles leaned into his chest, small hands holding onto his shirt.

Every kiss with Charles was like the first. The first kiss in existence. New and exciting, a startling reality that there was someone out there made for him. If he thought about it too hard, he’d probably tear up. He’d been alone for a long time, even surrounded by the other mutants he had distinctly been off by himself. With Charles around, that had changed. Charles brought him into the group in a way he never imagined possible, and at the same time stood by him where usually he went unaccompanied.

Kissing Charles was like coming home.

“Erik,” Charles sighed, rubbing his cheek against his. The deep rumble of his purr was like a soothing balm to Erik’s nerves. Trying not to become over eager he let himself relax, to just bask in Charles’ presence.

Kissing at Charles’ temple, Erik carded his fingers through the brown locks and scratched lightly at the fuzzy ears on the top of Charles’ head.

“Owner. Master. Husband. Mate.” Charles muttered in his ear, “Erik, love.” The last he sighed, almost whispering it to the air.

Running a hand up Charles’ ribs earned him a full body shudder. Erik could see where Charles’ erection was straining against his underwear, the indentation of his cock a feast for his eyes.

Fuck it. Erik was tired of this romantic shit. He knew he should be all gentle and slow for Charles since it was his first time at all, but seriously!? He was about to explode here. They both were. Erik would be doing them both a favor by putting them out of their misery as fast as he could. They could cuddle afterwards, to make up for all the lack of finesse Erik was sure they were about to miss out on.

Tipping Charles’ chin up, he brought their lips together again. Moist and messy, he didn’t worry about it getting sloppy. Charles ‘mew-ed’, working faster on getting Erik’s clothes off while Erik concentrated on getting as deep into Charles’ mouth as possible. Their one small moment of peace was over. It was a frenzied free for all to see who could make the other harder than they already were.

They had to break off the kiss though to get Erik’s undershirt off. In desperation to touch again, they clashed almost violently back together. Charles clawed at Erik’s naked shoulders to get closer, hooking one ankle around the back of Erik’s knee and stabbing him with a sharp toenail. The fur of his tail tickling up Erik’s thigh as it worked its way up.

Biting at Charles’ neck earned him an unexpectedly loud moan. It was sort of ‘yowl-y’.

Smirking, Erik worked to get Charles to make that sound again. Leaving a fresh trail of red hickies around Charles’ neck, like a necklace of red pearls.

Charles growled, pinching at Erik’s nipple.

‘Touché’, Erik thought. He leered at Charles, knowing as desperate as they were to get it on that they were both competitive enough to turn this into a game of sorts. And really, this was the kind of game Erik could get behind whole heartedly.

It was also a game Erik planned to win.

Blue eyes that normally Erik believed were full of innocent wonder went sharp and calculating. Like in a rugby match before the whistle blew, they both went still, eyeing each other and speculating who would make the next move.

Unexpectedly, Charles racked his fingernails down Erik’s chest. Hissing from the pain, Erik could only watch as the formally delicate hands left a raised, red trail behind them. Never breaking skin but leaving a twinge in sharp tenderness in their wake.

“Asshole,” Erik seethed. He wasn’t angry, far from it actually. He had just been hoping to get the upper hand first.

With a leer of his own, Charles licked over the sore skin, down his chest to twirl his tongue around Erik’s tender nipples. “Erik, love, you have a fine set of tits.” Charles spoke around the areola.

Erik smothered a laugh.

“I’m serious!” Charles unlatched. “You should breast feed when we have our kittens. I would love to watch.”

“Oh God,” Erik laughed wildly. “That is the craziest shit anyone’s ever said to me. Charles, men can’t breast feed.”

The cat ears laid back against Charles’ head, almost disappearing into his hair. “That is the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.” Charles pouted. “But I can still suck on them right?”

Erik waved his arms. “Go right ahead and have at them.” He wasn’t about to admit out loud how much he liked the sound of that. His nipples had always been sensitive, and he loved when any of his lovers had paid the slightest attention to them. It was just sad that not that many did. But he had Charles now, and it sounded like that wasn’t going to be a problem anymore.

Charles went right back to where he left off, sucking on one and pinching the other. Erik was happy just to lay back and enjoy the attention.

But he couldn’t just sit there the whole time. Charles was rutting into his thigh before long, and the feel of his cloth covered erection against Erik’s skin brought to notice the fact that they still weren’t completely naked. This was a situation that he needed to rectify. 

Erik rolled them, disturbing Charles from where he was placing open mouthed kisses on Erik’s collarbone. He made a pitiful kitten sound that made Erik lift an eyebrow in surprise.

“I was having fun,” Charles explained.

“Which I don’t doubt, but that doesn’t mean what I have in mind isn’t fun either.”

“Oh?” Charles leaned back against the pillows, shamelessly spreading his legs so Erik could crouch between them. Erik took a second to twist out of his own underwear, watching Charles’ face light up when his cock sprang free. His tail making ‘come hither’ motions between the pale thighs.  Grabbing a hold of Charles’ ankles, he lifted them into the air instead, his feet pointing towards the ceiling. “Uh?”

Erik didn’t waste a second, grabbing the hem of the red underwear, he pulled them off and flung them somewhere behind him.

“Better,” Erik replied, letting the legs drop. One ankle fell on his shoulder while the other landed back on the bed. Charles was spread out like a feast, open and delicious for him to observe. His cock was flushed dark red against the bush of brown pubic hair, a startling contrast of color against his soft white skin.

Charles purred in delight, rubbing his foot against Erik’s neck.

Erik bent over him, leaving a trail of kisses from Charles’ knee up the inside of his thigh. Stopping just as he got to his groin, he breathed in the scent of Charles there- the warm, fresh scent there was like nothing he’d smelled before. Normally other men had a musk about them, and either because of Charles’ crackdown of the bathroom facilities or because he was half-cat, he really didn’t have a scent that Erik could pick up. It was peculiar, but not horrible.

Charles probed him with his foot. He obviously wanted Erik to continue.

With a quick teasing kiss to the head of Charles’ cock, he went past it. Laving open mouth kisses and licking into the creases of Charles’ muscles all along his body, making his way north up the shivering body. A small nibble to Charles’ right abdomen almost got him a knee in the temple when he discovered Charles was ticklish there.  Charles yanked him by the hair farther up so he was poised over a temptingly pink nipple.

“I think we should stop here for tonight,” Erik teased. Settling his hips into the pelvic dip of Charles’, he tried not to thrust down into the pliant body under him. There would be time enough for that later.

Charles’ fisted his hair tighter. “I will kill you if you stop now.” He growled. “Death! Torture of the most extreme! I will claw all your clothes in your closet to pieces except that sparkly blue dress you think no one knows about!”

Erik scowled. He pinched a nipple in retaliation.

The smaller man moaned loudly, arching his chest higher. His leg thrown over Erik’s shoulder had him bent in half, and making it so he was unable to move much but twist his hips up into Erik’s. Their cocks sliding eagerly together. 

Biting his lips to distract himself, Erik let his hands roam up Charles’ chest. Charles was fit, not excessively so, but enough that he cut a lean figure. He also surprisingly didn’t have a lot of chest hair. However he did have a set of delightfully perky nipples.

With lips and hands he set about deconstructing Charles into a withering mess of moaning limbs. Leaving red bite marks and pink hickies on any particular piece of Charles’ anatomy that he found pleasing, as a reminder of places to visit at a later date.

Charles trembled under him, moaning loudly Erik’s name. Fisting his hair, scratching at his back, and one persistent foot digging into the seat of his ass, were all urging him on to just ‘fuck him already’.

Grunting, Charles lobbed a tube of lube at his head.

Erik conceded that he could bring Charles apart later, he was so hard he might cum just from Charles’ humping by itself. Making a mental note to try at a later date to make Charles come from playing with his nipples alone next Thursday. It was an admirable goal to help him through the rest of the week.

His fingers were trembling as he opened the tube and Erik tried to will them to stop. He wanted to seem confident and really, he’d done this before so he didn’t know why his nerves were so shaky. Just, this was Charles. It had to be a mix of excitement and terror (that some crazy shit would happen and he’d go to bed that night with blue balls for the nth time this week). Finally getting his fingers good and slippery, he went right back to lovingly sucking at Charles’ neck while his hand searched down between them. With GPS precision, he found the clenching muscle of Charles’ anus. Sticky with sweat, he circled his fingers around the quivering hole. 

“Erik, Erik-meow,” Charles cried out. Rocking his hips and spreading pre-cum on his stomach.

One finger breached Charles and he gasped out loudly. Throwing his head back and baring his throat to Erik’s sharp teeth. “O-oh, Erik,” Charles gave a full body shiver, his tail poofing out like a bottle brush.

“Shhh,” Erik whispered, crooking his finger into Charles’ prostate. Charles howled, throwing his arms around Erik’s neck and scratching down his back. Erik grunted in pain, nipping at the pale throat displayed for him. “It’s okay baby, just relax.”

“It’s so wonderful. You’re so wonderful. E-Erik!”

God, Charles had probably woken the whole house by now. With a glare, Erik made sure the door was locked. Even if they banged on the door, Erik wasn’t getting out of this bed for nothing. In fact he was pretty sure someone could lite the whole floor on fire and he wasn’t moving until he got BOTH himself and Charles off.

Once it seemed like Charles was ready he added another finger. Scissoring and massaging the muscles of Charles’ tight channel. Charles was rocking against him, his cock pressing hard against Erik’s stomach and getting cum all over them both. Erik’s fingers were clenched tightly with every thrust of his hips. It wasn’t long before Erik was fucking Charles on three of his slippery fingers.

“Fuck…Charles,” Erick seethed through his teeth. He wanted to come so bad. To just plunge into Charles’ depth and fuck him something brutal. There was the inspiration of just tossing Charles onto his stomach, taking a hold of his tail, and just plowing into him. Rutting like two animals in heat. Hissing and scratching each other until they were bloody and sated.

“Do it, do it, do it.” Charles whined. “If you don’t fuck me right now I will maul you.”

Erik huffed in laughter. Charles could be somewhat vicious when it came to sex it seemed. With one last stab at Charles’ prostate, he withdrew his fingers. Charles whimpered, clutching and rubbing his tail against his blushing cheeks. He looked around them for the condom and lube, finding the condom where Charles left it and the lube under his foot.

He was anxious, trying hard not to rip the condom as he put it on. Practically lathering Charles with the rest of the lube, he planned to make this the easiest penetration in the history of sex. Erik knew he was on the larger size when it came to cock size, so really the more lube the better.  Charles might thank him later when he tried to sit down. Biting the inside of his cheek he looked down at Charles, watching the glistening hole winking at him, the angrily flushed cock, the bitten pale skin of Charles’ torso along with his perky pink nipples, all the way to his beautiful panting face. Heavy lidded blue eyes looked back at him full of lust.

Charles’ breathing pick up, his chest heaving as Erik settled over him. The head of his cock brushing against Charles’ anus and knocking into the back of his balls. Erik had to squeeze the base of his cock so he didn’t shoot off automatically.

“Just breath,” Erik whispered, lips brushing against Charles’. They were breathing each other’s air. The smell of sex permeating the air around them.

“I’m… nervous.” Charles made a pitiful ‘mew’ sound. His fingers tangling into Erik’s hair and bringing their lips together in a tender kiss.

“Everything will be okay,” Erik nudged the head inside gently. Charles parting easily for him, the heat of his channel a furnace against Erik’s length. He had to resist the instinct to just sink himself completely into Charles, letting Charles take a few deep breaths before sliding inch by inch inside him instead.

Finally, the whole of his cock was within Charles, the vice warmth of him tightening around him. His hips flushed against the smaller man’s pelvis. Erik was panting, sweating like crazy against the urge to pull out and fuck back into Charles as fast as he could.

“You’re inside me,” Charles sighed, clenching down on the thick intrusion and making Erik squeak. He looked amazed, like he couldn’t believe this was happening to him. He wiggled a bit, earning a loud groan of agony from the metal-bender while he got comfortable and wrapped his legs tighter around Erik’s hips.

Charles kissed at Erik’s thin lips. Biting at his lips and licking at his teeth, Erik growled at him in return.

With one last heavy breath, Erik allowed himself to pull back. Letting Charles nose at his hairline as he watched his cock slip slowly out of Charles just enough that only the head was still inside before pushing back in. Charles gasped, eyes blown wide as he stared up at Erik like he’d just invented the feather duster. Charles smacked his hands on Erik’s ass, sending a tingling shiver up Erik’s spine and probably leaving a red hand print behind.

“Do that again.” Charles demanded. 

Never one to ignore an order like that, Erik started to thrust more casually. The slippery slide of his cock just gliding into Charles was by far the greatest thing ever. The sticky sweat and leaking pre-cum from Charles made things a bit messy, but he wouldn’t have it any other way. And from the sounds Charles was making he probably wouldn’t either.

“G-God, Erik!...Meow!..Har-harder.” Charles panted into his ear, kissing and biting any skin near him. His claws digging into Erik’s ass to urge him on. Erik was roughly pistoning his hips by down, fucking into Charles as deep and hard as he could as Charles pushed back into him.

Erik moaned. “C-Charles…shit, you’re so tight. Stop squeezing like that.” He referred to the fact that every forward thrust had him sinking into Charles, who rolled his hips and tightened the muscles of his ass every time. Making it extremely hard for Erik not to just cum and get this glorious torture over with. He wanted to last longer than 5 mins please.

“Oh-oh! There! You’re so heavy inside m-me Erik. Nyao.” Charles was howling. To shut him up Erik kissed him. Open mouth and sloppy, their tongues dueled as their bodies continued to rut against each other. Mating so hard the head board was slamming into the wall.

His balls were drawing tight, he knew he maybe had a few more thrust before he spent himself. Reaching between them he fisted Charles’ penis, milking him.

“No! Eek, too much! Erik!” Charles yowled, spatter cum all up his chest and Erik’s as he came in ribbons on them. His body seizing up and tightening around Erik’s cock, trembling as his orgasm rolled through him. With a couple of more violent, deep thrust Erik followed after him. Pulsing into the condom as Charles’ body demands every last drop from him.

Erik slumps over. He could goddamn pass out right now and never regret it. Which is about what he did.

***

“That was marvelous.” Charles sighs lovingly.

Erik grunts from where he’s face planted into the pillows. His body absolutely refuses to move, muscles screaming at him from months of disuse. And Charles has the audacity to be perky and wide awake after all that sex. Erik seriously regrets getting up to get the washcloth to clean them, he’d figured Charles would be too out of it to move but instead he gets the exact opposite. Should have made him clean up after them instead, he grumbles.

“When can we do it again,” Charles leans over him, begging into his ear.

If anything touches Erik’s cock but the bed sheets for the next 12 hours, it’s going to fall off. He swears.

“Later.” Erik states. Charles is wiggling on top of him again, purring loudly on Erik’s back.

“When later?” Charles’ hand pets down Erik’s back, hands stopping to cup Erik’s ass. Erik barely has the energy to shiver.

“Later. Sleep now.”

“Is it my turn yet?” Charles sighed loudly after about 30 minutes of organizing the room again.

Erik’s eyes popped open. He swore he was just asleep. Otherwise he was hearing things wrong.

“What?”

Charles sat back down on the edge of the bed. “You had your turn. When’s mine? Are you rested up enough?”

“Wait-huh? Your turn to what?”

Charles leers.

***

Fucking stairs. Erik hobbled down them with a noticeable limp, rubbing gently at the sore bite mark on the back of his neck. Someone could get a bit over enthusiastic when it was their turn to top. And really, Erik should have known Charles was an animal in bed. Seriously, he’s pretty sure Charles had drawn blood last night biting him like that.

“Whoa! Erik ruff night last night,” Alex laughs. For him Erik growls, using his powers to trip the douche into Emma’s room. Serves the moron right.

There’s screaming behind him and he obstinately keeps walking. The screams and yelling are high pitch and girly so it could have been either Alex or Emma. Emma was probably in the middle of putting on her makeup and there’s a notorious legend that no one alive has ever seen her without it, he wonders briefly what she’ll do to Alex to keep that myth going. Should be interesting.

Angel pops out of her room as he passes. She looks him up and down once before turning right back around into her room, shutting the door behind her. Erik glares at the door. He can still hear her laughing in there, but she at least has the decency not to do it to his face so he’ll forgive her this time.

It’s like the goddamn walk of shame. Like magic the rest of the household is walking out of their rooms the same time Erik walks by. At least the little ones have no clue why everyone is smothering their laughter at him. Ororo actually looks concerned for him, taking his hand and leading him into the kitchen like he’s an invalid. Erik doesn’t mind though, it gives him a good excuse to bend his knees and get the pressure off his lower back.

Scott, Jean, Raven, and Charles are in the kitchen. Charles is setting the breakfast table with a delightful array of foods while the kittens finish setting the silverware. Raven is watching from the fridge, pouring orange juice for everyone.

Hearing the door swing shut, Charles turns to greet them. A smile breaking out across his face and lighting up the whole room. “Erik!”

Erik doesn’t even remember why he was so grouchy this morning.

He really needs to learn that where he’d expect normal people to be a certain way, that Charles will be the opposite of that.

So awkward morning-after-breakfast: not so much. Charles is his dandy, cuddly self who had no conception that everyone shouldn’t know what Erik and he had been up to the night before.

Okay so it was sort of awkward, just not in the way he expected. He had been rather hoping to see a demure, shy Charles, who’d flutter his eyelashes and blush once he saw Erik again. He should have known better.

“Here Erik, I found a cushion for you to sit on.” Charles brandished a donut pillow from behind his back. “I’m dearly sorry for being so ruff with you last night.”

Raven who’d been in the middle of sipping her glass did a spit-take.

“…Thanks.” Erik glared. Charles had just chirped happily and kissed his cheek in reply.

Scott and Ororo made sure he was settled, it was embarrassing being tended to by a flock of small kitt-children but he seriously wasn’t get help from the others. The older adults just looked amused, taking their seats at the table and giving Charles praises as he set the food on the table. Every once in a while sending Erik smirks across the table.

“Mr. Erik?” Scott blinked up at him with huge eyes.

“Yes, Scott.” Erik tried not to sigh. The others weren’t exactly being enigmatic about their attention on the conversation.

“Did Mr. Charles beat you up?” Scott whispered, taking the seat beside Erik and ignoring this brother’s blubbering on the other side (farthest away from Erik and Emma, and sporting a few new scratches down his face). It seemed Erik had gotten himself an unforeseen fan yesterday afternoon.

Unsure how to answer without losing face, Erik mulled this over, sticking a piece of bacon in his mouth so he wouldn’t have to answer right away. Luckily (or not), Charles saved him.

“No, Scotty. Erik and I were training last night and he just pulled a muscle.” Charles said, filling the small boy’s plate with food. He sent Erik a bashful smile.

Everyone started coughing at the same time, vague words of ‘bullshit’ and ‘pussy’ barely heard over the noise.

Suddenly, everyone’s silverware was pointing viciously at them.

Charles glared down the table, patting Scotts shoulder. “He’ll be fine in a few hours, but he appreciates you looking after him.”

Scott nodded, looking a lot better now that he knew Erik was only temporarily out of commission. Little tike probably was looking out for his new hide-and-seek teacher. Erik was sort of touched still that he was concerned. When he was that age he could have cared less about any adult. “Good.” He said, fiddling with the silver lightning bold necklace around his neck and shooting Erik a small smile every once in a while.

Erik stayed behind once everyone had finished eating. Watching silently as Charles cleaned up after them, humming under his breath and swishing his tail. It was a quiet introspective moment, peacefully watching Charles but not interacting with him. He was cataloging Charles’ odd quirks when he felt someone tug on his pant leg.

“Mr. Erik?” Jean’s grey eyes stared up at him.

“Yes, Jean?” Erik asked. He was bewildered by all the kitten’s attention suddenly. Did Charles hide candy in his pockets while he wasn’t looking or something?

“Can I be the flower girl?”

Erik did a double-take. “What?”

“I was telling Ororo that you and Charles were getting married, and she says that there can only be one flower girl. Can I be the flower girl? I really wanna wear a princess dress.”

The noise in the kitchen went abruptly quiet.

“…you both…can be the flower girl.” Erik ventured. Weddings really weren’t his area of expertise but he doubted Charles was really entraining ideas of a traditional ceremony.

Jean pursed her lips. “We can?” Charles appeared behind him, setting his hands on Erik’s shoulder.

“Yes. You’ll help me find the right outfit for the wedding won’t you?”

Ororo appeared like magic beside Jean, both squealing and jumping in a gaggle of curls. Erik felt an indulgent smile sneak across his face as he watched them. Children were so simple to please.

Raven, Sean, and Hank popped their head around the door frame, mouth’s hanging open and eyes wide.

Erik scowled.

“Did I just hear that right?” Raven asked, coming around the door and standing in the middle of the kitchen, hands on her hips and frowning at them.

Erik thought about playing it off. Really, the idea passed through his mind for, like, a second before he saw how that would all work out. Probably with Charles stomping off down the hall and swearing never to suck Erik’s cock again. He’d rather risk the other’s ire than Charles’.

“Yeah, what about it?” Erik challenged, petting at Charles’ hand where he squeezed his shoulders.

“You cannot be serious.” Raven growled, looking between Erik and Charles like she couldn’t believe their stupidity. “You haven’t even known each other a month.”

“Wrong.” Erik stated. He glanced up at Charles, noticing that his ears were low and his tail hung lifeless behind him, all the while his face remaining perfectly blank. “I think it’s a perfectly reasonable thing to do.” He assured Charles.

Sean and Hank sputtered. They both looked like their entire world view was being turned upside down.

“EMMA!!” Raven hollered, never moving from her stance though she looked angry enough to stride across the room and strangle them both. The little girls looked confused and upset, crowding around Erik where he sat. Unconsciously Erik let his hands settle on both their heads and pulled them close, letting them hide their faces on his chest.

Everyone could feel Emma assessing the situation from where ever she was. Erik wasn’t sure if he was the only one or not who got the weird mental ‘sigh’ though. Waiting in trepid silence as Emma joined them.

“What?” She looked disgruntled. Emma had made a comment at the breakfast table about not getting enough sleep the night before.

Raven pointed at Erik, like everything was solely his fault. “Speak to this idiot before he breaks any more brains with his crazy proposals.”

Emma sighed loudly, her whole body slumping in defeat. She looked tired and exhausted, even her hair was limp. “He’s serious Mystique. They both are. If you heard how sappy and in love they were with each other last night you wouldn’t be objecting either.”

“Oh we heard alright.” Sean added his two cents in. Hank redeemed himself minimally by whapping him across the arm.

Raven sputtered this time. “B-but, Charles is a cat!”

Erik growled, surging out of the chair to stand in front of the wilting Charles, pushing the kitten towards him. “He’s not! And what are you trying to imply by that?”

She took a step back, bumping into Hank’s chest. “A few weeks ago he was your pet, Erik. You can’t seriously think getting into a relationship like that will just erase all that history? He hasn’t experienced the world like we have, you’ve kept him cooped up in here like some kind of dependent spouse. He probably thinks that’s all he’s good for. What if he comes to resent you?”

“For what? Being in love with him, protecting him?” Erik snarled.

“Stop being a fucking idiot. It’s your fault he’s the way he is now. And how do you even know this spell-thing is going to last? Tomorrow he could be back to being a full feline and you’d have broken both your hearts for nothing.”

Erik stumbled back like he’d been stabbed, falling hard back into his chair. Even Emma’s eyes were wide with surprise. No one had even thought of that.

“N-no Mr. Charles,” Ororo cried out.

Erik turned swiftly, barely catching a glimpse of Charles’ tail as he ran out of the kitchen.

“Shit.” Erik ran a hand down his face. Ororo and Jean were sniffling in his arms, clinging tightly as if afraid he too would run away.

“I’m sorry Erik,” Raven said gently. “It’s been bothering me, watching you two get so close.”

Erik repressed snarling at her, glancing sharply at her from under his messy bangs. As much as he wanted to run after Charles, the little ones were his concern right now. Charles would appreciate him thinking of them first. He cooed into Jean’s hair, rocking them gently.

“Fuck Raven, why are you being so jealous.” Sean said, looking serious for probably the first time in his life.

“I’m not,” Raven cried. “I’m just trying to point out a big plot whole in this whole ‘happily ever after’ scenario that everyone’s entertaining. Surly I wasn’t the only one who thought Charles’ transformation might only be temporary?”

Everyone looked guiltily away.

Emma took a deep breath, seeming to come back into her usual, confident self. From either her powers or her deep well of infinite capabilities, she took command. Knowing that Erik would be occupied for the time being. “Raven, find Charles. Apologize.”

“W-what?” Raven’s skin flickered green.

“Charles is one of us. Animal, human, or mutant, you shouldn’t have spoken about him like that to his face, much less like he wasn’t here. Sean- go with her. Charles is close to the woods and I’d rather not find out he climbed a tree without a way to get down.”

Raven and Sean headed immediately out. Raven pausing briefly next to Erik, “I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t doubt you love him. I’m just trying to look out for both of you.”

Erik turned away, pulling the girls closer to him until his face was hidden by a mix of brown and red curls.

“Hank you’re with me. Erik… join us when you’ve settled down.” Emma stated, marching off towards the labs. “We have a mutant to find.”

***

It had taken awhile, getting the kittens to calm down. Ororo more than Jean, the child had abandonment issues that Erik had been unaware of till now. It broke his heart into tinier pieces watching her fall apart from when Charles had pushed her away and run. All the yelling probably hadn’t helped either.

Erik held up a tissue for her to blow her nose. After giving a loud ‘honk’, with red rimmed eyes she looked up at him from where he was tucking her into her bed. “Is Mr. Charles going to come back?”

“Of course, he’d never leave us.”

“Then why did he run away?”

He wasn’t sure how one was supposed to admit to a kid that sometimes adults were fucked up. That things were taken out of context, and weren’t purely black and white. Adults did dumber stuff than kids all the time. Even he had no idea exactly why Charles ran away, but he could guess. Probably the same reason he had wanted to run also.

“Are you going to run away with Mr. Charles and get married, like in the movies?” Jean’s sleepy voice came from her side of the bed. She had settled down the fastest, surprising with her telepathic abilities.

Erik gave her a watery smile. “Maybe. Do you both want to come with me if we do?”

That seemed to cheer them right up. Jean and Ororo looked at each other once before pouncing on Erik, hugging him tightly enough he fell over. “Please, please!” Jean said loudly.

He laughed lightly, sitting up at trying to wrangle the kittens back into bed. “Okay then, that’s the deal. If the other’s disagree we’ll steal off into the sunset to the nearest church, and one of you can walk me down the aisle.”

“Oh, me! I’ll walk you!” Ororo gasped, gripping the sheets excitedly in a white knuckle grip. They looked better, and even though it was early they really needed the nap.

Looking around, Erik spotted a small children’s book. “Do you want me to read you both a story?”

“Please,” Jean cuddled close. “Beauty and the Beast is my favorite.”

Settling into the bed between them, he started reading. The docile tones of his voice lulling them easily into sleep with their full bellies and tired eyes. He had barely gotten to the 3rd chapter before he heard their heavy breathing. Quietly, he set the book down and looked over both kittens. Wondering what life would be like a year from now.

***

Erik walked into the café, looking around for a familiar face. A brunette girl glanced up, saw him, and ducked her head behind a book. Erik gave her a baleful stare, walking over to sit across from her.

“Fancy meeting you here,” He said casually. Emma was seated 2 seats over, sipping surreptitiously at a chi latte and ignoring all the lusty stares from the business men and college students around her. Big, cat eye glasses covering half her face, she looked like a librarian with a fetish for white leather bondage gear.

The girl groaned loudly, slamming the book down onto the steel tabletops. “What are you doing here?” She hissed at him, glancing around to see if anyone around her was watching. Never before had anyone been embarrassed just by being in Erik’s presence (except Janos, and that was a long time ago and that bar no longer allowed either of them in the front door).

“I figured I should check up on you. See how you and your boyfriend are doing?” A waitress slipped up beside him. He ordered a cup of black tea, heedlessly ignoring the glare from the teenager in front of him.

She seemed to accept that Erik wasn’t leaving anytime soon, so she stuffed her book in her bag. “He dumped me. Big surprise seeing how some freak in a pink cape tried to strangle him with his gold chains.”

Erik shrugged.

“So that’s it?” She asked, transferring her glare to the blushing waitress who brought Erik his tea and condiments. Taking a sip, Erik hummed, nodding to the waitress his thanks. He was impressed with the service here, he’d have to bring Charles one day.

“No. I have a question about this curse you put on me.” Erik blew on the tea.

She looked wickedly gleeful. “So, I take it the spark has gone out of the romance?”

“Hardly.”

“So what? She dumped you?” She sneered. “Or did you dump her? You look like the asshole type.”

“No. In fact I’d say you did me a service with this curse.”

Bewildered, she sputtered. “What?”

“Never mind all that. I’d like to know how long the curse works for.”

“Huh?”

Erik sighed loudly. It was so hard keeping his cool in front of this girl and all these people. Emma’s chants to ‘settle down’ were barely keeping him from wrapping this annoying girl in the steel tabletop like a metal burrito. The only outward appearance of his annoyance were his fingers, they tapped consistently against the tea plate.

“There were complications with your curse,” Erik spoke over her when she tried to say something. “Does you curse continue indefinably or not?”

“What sort of complications?” She looked intrigued. Erik motioned his hands for her to continue. Pursing her lips, she glowered at him. “Yes. Forever. Unless I decide to take it off.”

He leaned back in his seat, loudly sighing in relief. Looking confused and bitter the teenager leaned forward as if to intimidate him.

“The curse is on you though. Whoever you love. Your lover suffers your curse.”

Erik sat up strait. “What?”

She smiled cruelly. “The stipulations are that whoever you love will be human. If you fall in love with someone else the curse works on them. No matter whom you love at any given time they become human.”

“So you’re saying if I fall out of love with the person I currently love they become normal again?” How interesting. What a fascinating power she had, like a real fairy tale witch. It was too bad she was such a vindictive little bitch to join them. The household probably wouldn’t last a week with her before they were all cursed ten ways to Sunday.

“Exactly.” Looking satisfied, she sneered at him. “And I don’t think you deserve for me to break the curse.”

“Oh no, you’re right. I don’t deserve it at all.” Erik smiled sharply at her. Behind her, Emma stood up quickly, sending Erik a weary look.

Not sure if he was trolling or not, the teenager glanced him over. “What?”

“I still hate humans.” Erik drained the rest of his tea. Searching for his wallet and pulling a few bills out to cover his ticket. “Once you lift the curse I’ll kill them all, I promise you that.”

Her jaw drops. “Seriously?” She squeaks.

“Deadly.” His smile was menacing. Let her think she was doing the world a service by keeping Erik cursed.

“She was telling the truth,” Emma slipped out the door behind him. The patrons of the coffee shop shot him envious looks. The waitress clutched her apron as she watched them leave.

“So it will last forever, as long as I’m in love with Charles.” Erik laughed hysterically. Talk about pressure.

Emma gave him a gentle look, and if he wasn’t freaking out so much about the curse he would’ve been freaking out about that look. “Well at least you don’t have to worry about the curse breaking in the middle of nowhere.”

Erik pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, just if I ever fall out of love with him.”

She shrugged. “Could be worse.” Emma glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. “You didn’t even think of asking her to just change Charles permanently.”

“No.” Erik remembered the look in the girl’s eyes. She would do the opposite of whatever Erik asked. She hated him, and even if she might fear him now, she’d do anything in her power to keep him from what he wanted. As powerful as he was, he had no way to counter that kind of magic. He’d keep an eye on her from now on though.

“I think she cursed your waitress for being nice to you,” Emma supplied.

Damn teenagers were so dramatic these days.

They walked in silence the rest of the way out of town. Azazel would be waiting for them in a barn at the outskirts of town, harassing a flock of chickens and holding a one-sided conversation with a goat. There would be whining to take ‘Mr. Misha’ back with them, and Erik would break a tractor until he finally conceded a goat would be a good pet for the little ones back home.

Back home in Westchester, Erik went to find Charles. For once, this was accomplished rather easily.

“He’s in your room,” Angel said at the door.

“Did Raven talk to him?” Erik asked, wondering how that conversation went. While he was gone, had she totally convinced Charles that their relationship was hopeless? He would like to think he thought better of his fellow mutants, but he just couldn’t help but worry. Victor had already proved his trust could be misplaced.

“I guess,” Angel looked at him helplessly. He left the 3 of them to deal with the goat.

Erik tore up to his room, taking the steps two at a time. Bursting into his room violently and almost ripping the door off its hinges. “Charles,” Erik said breathlessly.

Charles, startled, was poofed out. Standing unassumingly in the middle of the room with a book, goggling at Erik’s entrance. His blue eyes tracked Erik as he surged into the room and swept Charles into his arms.

“E-Erik? What is this all about?” Charles asked bewildered.

Erik nuzzled Charles’ temple. “I was…worried about you.”

“Whatever for?” He laughed, wiggling his arms up around Erik’s neck. He acted like this morning had never happened, that he hadn’t run out of the house and into the woods at Raven’s words.

“This morning, what Raven said. I thought you’d leave us so you wouldn’t break anyone’s heart.”

“Oh, Erik. I’m sorry to say I’m entirely too selfish for that to happen.” Charles kissed his cheek. “I was just upset by how blunt she was. I’d rather risk my heart than deny my feelings for you. And even if tomorrow I’m a cat again, I will never regret what happened between us was.”

Pulling back enough, Erik placed his forehead against Charles’, staring into each other’s eyes. He tried to repress the goofy smile he felt break loose. “Me neither.” 

“I wanted to apologize for my reaction, I’ve already talked to Ororo and Jean. So where were you?” Charles ears swiveled towards him.

“Visiting a teenage witch,” Erik said, smiling at Charles’ response to that.

“Are you joking?”

“Nope.”

“Okay then.” Charles leaned up for a kiss. Erik was happy to comply.

***

“That is disgustingly sweet.” Alex spat out. Jean rounded on him, small hand beating at his legs.

“Leave them alone!”

Alex hopped around, trying to avoid the little fists. “Hey stop! I was just joking!”

“Are you serious?” Darwin asked Erik as he swooped down and picked Jean up. Alex thought he was saved until Jean figured out the new height only meant Alex’s head was closer now.

Charles looked up at Erik with saccharine eyes. “I don’t think it’s so much a curse either.”

Erik couldn’t exactly argue with that. He settled for smiling back, ruffling Charles hair around his ears.

“So your love will keep him like this?” Darwin asked again. Charles nodded, clinging tightly to Erik’s hand.

Raven came forward out of the group, looking like she didn’t expect Erik to forgive her. “So I was wrong. I’m sorry both of you, for talking to you that way.”

Erik gave her a nod. Charles had talked to him after their rather memorable make-out session about the conversation he had with Raven while Erik had been away. Raven had let her jealousy get to her, she’d been Erik’s only friend for a long time before Emma and Azazel found them again. She believed that maybe that they were rushing things with the whole marriage thing, but understood that it wasn’t her decision. She was happy for them though, and that’s all that counted.

“It’s okay.” Erik reassured her. He’d talk to her alone later, without an audience. While he might not like it, if she was truly upset about the engagement he’d wait until she was. Any of them. He made a note to corner each one of the brotherhood member to talk to later. He’d rather they get any problems they have with them off their chest now then in the middle of any ceremony.

“So…you’re getting married?” Janos asked, looking around to see if he’d heard wrong.

Charles bit his lips, gazing up an Erik. “Yup!”

“Okay!” Janos sat down heavily on the couch.

“When?” Angel smiled at them, her wings fluttering excitingly.

Erik gave Charles a bewildered look. They hadn’t really discussed any of that stuff. Erik had just wanted confirmation that the engagement was still on. Really he would be happy with them just going to a courthouse one day when neither of them were busy.

“When’s good for you honey?” Charles teased.

Erik squinted at him. “I don’t know darling. What kind of wedding would you like: a winter wedding? Maybe a spring wedding so the girls can wear pastels?”

Alex made fake gagging motions, Sean laughed.

Charles fumbled, “Well, Ororo has informed me she’s walking you down the aisle, so maybe you should ask your bridesmaids.”

Erik scowled.

“I think nice autumn purple.” Azazel added his two cents. Everyone turned to stare at him. “What? Color looks good with both of them. And Misha.”

“The goat is not going to be in the wedding Azazel.” Emma scolded, ignoring Azazel sticking his tongue out at her behind her back. Erik was sure his agreement didn’t need to be said. Said goat was currently eating the gladiolas in his garden.

“Well, I was thinking maybe in a few months?” Erik tried to supply. Everyone was yelling and talking about their own crazy ideas of how Erik should dress and what decorations they should have. Sean in particular wanted a nacho cheese fountain at the reception and was very vocal about it.

Charles pulled him into the hallway, everyone else so busy talking amongst themselves to notice.

“Thank you.” Charles whispered, leaning up to kiss Erik.

Pulling Charles closer, Erik closed his eyes to enjoy the kiss. Letting it get deep, they clung to one another, just basking in the presence of each other. Erik didn’t think he’d ever get tired of kissing Charles.

Charles pulled back. “I know I don’t have any way to prove it like you do, but I love you.”

Erik laughed, biting gently at Charles’ chin. “Well, I might need a reminder every day.”

“Oh,” Charles smiled, licking his lips. “Then, would you like a practical demonstration of how much? ”

Smiling, Erik pulled Charles behind him as they raced up the stairs to his bedroom.

***Epilogue***

Erik awakens to a fuzzy blond kitten curled on his chest.

“David? What are you…” Erik asks groggily. He was exhausted last night, finally able to return home after dealing with Victor Creed. It had only taken him and Logan about a year to hunt the guy down. But worth it to know his family is safe.

“Watch him for me dear, I’m feeding Wanda right now.” Charles is sitting at the end of the bed with the kitten’s basket next to him. Wanda curled in his arms while Pietro and Anya sleep. “I really wish I had those 6 nipples, this would be some much easier feeding them all at the same time.”

“She’s going to get fat. All she does is eat.” Erik ignored the nipple comment. They’ve had the conversation tons of time since the kittens were born. Charles just couldn’t understand that he can’t nurse them like his instinct wants him too.

Charles huffs. “No she won’t.”

Erik sits up in bed, hand cupping his child bottom. David is the furriest out of the four, more cat then human. A quirk of genetics, not anything to do with the curse. Anya, the oldest looks completely human while Wanda and Pietro look half, like Charles. Wanda with small black kitten ears and tail, Pietro with white. Every one of them tiny enough to fit into his hand.

“Hand me a bottle, David smacking his lips at me.” Erik reaches over to take one of the four bottles on the tray when Charles isn’t quick enough. He handles the kitten gently as he feeds him. Petting him gently as David sucks on the plastic nipple. He dislikes the idea of having a favorite among his kittens but if he did, David would be it. The others are squirmy and loud, and Pietro cries a lot at night.

He accidently glances up and catches Charles staring at him with dopey eyes.

“What?”

“You’re good with him.” Charles states, like Erik didn’t have weeks of practice and panic attacks wondering if he isn’t going to kill one of his children in a fit of stupidity.

“My mom taught me. Found a stray kitten once, when I was 7. She showed me how to take care of it until we could take it to the rescue center.” Erik smiled at the fond memory. He hardly remembered it until recently, napping with Wanda last week.

Charles leans over to kiss him, earning a squeal from Wanda. Anya and Pietro start up, mewling in the basket for attention.

Pulling back, Charles licks his lips. “I think we should have more. Being a father is obviously good for you.”

“What?!”

“Hmm,” Charles purrs. “Maybe around 6 more?”

Erik feels faint.

David hiccups. Erik can’t help but think every kitten was worth it, so who knows 6 more might not be so bad. Besides, he loves his family. 2 years of marriage and 4 kittens later, not counting the rest of the household, surely adding more love to it wouldn’t hurt it at all.

 


End file.
